


only the moon howls

by zogratiscest



Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Werecreatures, Black Clover Manga Spoilers, Bottom Yuno (Black Clover), Breeding Kink, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Imprinting, Knotting, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Top Asta (Black Clover), Werewolf Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 12:35:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 36,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29792004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zogratiscest/pseuds/zogratiscest
Summary: wolves mate for life. only asta could fuck that up by imprinting on a human.
Relationships: Asta/Yuno (Black Clover), Finesse Calmreich/Finral Roulacase (Background), Magna Swing/Luck Voltia (Background), Nacht Faust/Yami Sukehiro, Vanessa Enoteca/Gauche Adlai (Background)
Comments: 72
Kudos: 117





	1. Chapter 1

Nacht finds him standing on a cardboard box that looks like it’s about to cave in beneath his dirty feet, peeking over the edge of the dumpster and looking for food.

“Excuse me,” he calls softly, and the boy’s head whips around so quickly that Nacht winces in sympathy for him. He lifts his hands, gloved palms out, so the boy— the pup— has no reason to be afraid of him. “I’m Nacht. What are you doing out here alone, sweetheart?”

Jade green eyes meet his not without fear, and Nacht worries his lower lip between his teeth. The pup might take off before Nacht can talk him down from his immediate fight or flight response, and chasing down a child in the dark will make him look like a lunatic. Someone might call the police, and Nacht is not ready to explain to anyone, much less the human authorities, why he and his mate have a van full of children who are not theirs.

_ Foster children, _ he always lies when the receptionist at certain hotels casts a discerning eye over the brood that trails him and Yami like small shadows.

The pup watches him carefully as he steps off of the cardboard box, and Nacht breathes a sigh of relief. If it collapses inward while the boy is standing on it, he might hit the asphalt, and the torn, dirtied clothing he wears would hardly protect him. Smart boy to be wary right away, but Nacht has never met an abandoned pup who did not look at him with that same uncertainty, that same almost-fear. By the time he and Yami find them, most of these pups have been through enough to be afraid of anyone who offered them help.

“Where are your parents?” Nacht asks, reaching for his scarf with one hand so he can loosen it. Standing upwind means the winter breeze will carry his omega scent to the pup, to give him at least that reassurance— Unless he is from a pack who might have hurt him.

They exist, few and far between, but they do. Yami was from one when Nacht met him.

“Don’t have any.” The boy takes a step toward him, then jerks himself to a halt. Instincts are hard to corral for children who have little experience with having to do just that.

“You’re all alone out here in the cold? Is that why you were going through the dumpster?” This pup isn’t even the first one Nacht has caught doing exactly that, so he can imagine what the pup was doing. “You shouldn’t, baby. You could get sick off of spoiled food.”

“I know that.” The pup tries to stand up straighter, but he’s small. Too scrawny, and Nacht can imagine he likely doesn’t get enough food, especially now, in the colder months.

“Mmm, do you?” Nacht crouches down. Omegas are hardly intimidating to most pups he meets, but he never really counts out the possibility of meeting one who has bad experiences that he might make worse by trying to make himself seem harmless to them.

The boy sneezes. Nacht’s heart spasms slightly. Omegas have a sixth sense where pups in need are concerned, which is how he knew the boy was out here in the first place. Despite the years’ worth of baggage he carries around for being exactly that, he never really tries to dampen down his instincts enough to ignore those who might need some help. Who might need a helping hand, especially when they are so young and so helpless in the world.

He’d like to save as many of them from going feral as he can, if that’s even possible.

“If you don’t have any parents, where’d you come from?” The service station is effectively in the middle of nowhere, a stop along the highway, between cities. The only reason they stopped was to fill up on gas and pick up snacks for the pups half-asleep in the van. Yami has no desire to stop before they reach the next city, and Nacht echoes that sentiment.

The pup glances behind the service station at the treeline in the distance, and Nacht’s stomach flips with warning. Has he been living as a wolf out in the cold? “From there.”

“You live in the woods?” The boy nods, and Nacht tries to stomach the revulsion. Not that being in wolf form is bad, but spending too much time in it… Nacht knows those who never came back from that. Because it gets harder and harder to turn back the longer they stay like that, and sometimes their mind simply erodes into the instincts of the wolf. “Not a place for a little boy like you, I think. Are you looking for a pack of your own?”

Curious eyes meet his, and the boy crosses small arms over a smaller chest. Nacht’s eyes might be playing tricks on him, but he thinks he can see the boy’s ribs visible through his shirt. “I never had a pack before. I lived in an orphanage before… Before I turned.”

“And then you had to leave, didn’t you?” Nacht nods when the boy just  _ hmphs _ at him, because of course he did. Because Nacht has another in his van with the same story. “Well, it’s only going to get colder. Are you sure you want to stay out in the cold?”

“It’s not always cold. When I’m a wolf, it isn’t cold.” The pup rubs his upper arms, and Nacht clicks his tongue softly. If he’s an alpha, he’ll run hotter than a beta or an omega, but even the bite of the winter cold is enough to make Yami grouchy.

“You can get stuck that way, but I’m sure you know that.” He might have even had a few brushes with it by now, if he’s been living in the wilderness for an extended period of time. “Why don’t you come with us? You can always leave if you decide you don’t like it.”

“Us,” the pup echoes back to him, his eyes narrowing. Silently asking Nacht what he means.

Suspicious. Nacht wonders if he simply built up that response over time, or if someone gave him a reason to be wary and uncertain of such offers. He  _ should _ be, of course, but if someone else has hurt him… Nacht swallows down the thought. He doesn’t want to think about that right now. He just wants to get the boy out of the cold and somewhere safe.

“My mate and I, and our pups,” he says, and he watches the tension in the pup’s body unwind slightly as he processes that information. Not that it makes Nacht and Yami  _ harmless _ by any means, but it’s usually enough to make a lonely pup curious.

He offers a gloved hand silently, watching the pup turn it over in his head, every emotion flashing through those green eyes like he’s never had a reason to hide any of them. Small and underfed, wary, probably the runt of his litter if he had a litter to begin with, and Nacht wonders when he turned for the first time. If he was truly old enough to be out on his own when he finally was, or if they tossed him out without thinking about that.

Nacht won’t ask for the name of the orphanage, but he’d really like to, sometimes.

“Momma?” The voice has him turning automatically to see one of his pups hurrying toward him, and Nacht is holding out an arm without thinking twice about it. All the pups he’s picked up over the years are  _ his _ now, and they’ve all stopped pretending otherwise.

There are growing pains in any family. Nacht is sure of that much. “I’m here, Finral.”

Finral rubs at his eyes with one hand, the other arm carefully braced around Nacht’s shoulders for balance. He’s unsteady on his feet, tired. “What are you doing?”

“Talking to someone,” Nacht says, and glances back at the pup to see him watching them both, expression careful, more curious and less wary now. “It’s all right, it’s just one of my pups, like I said. Why don’t you come over and say hello? I promise he’s harmless.”

Finral yawns so hard he squeaks at the end, and he offers the pup a sleepy smile.

It’s late. They only stopped because they had to, but most of the pups have learned to sleep in the car, and Luck— the only one who doesn’t— seems content to curl up against Magna’s side and just drink in the quiet while Yami drives. Every so often Nacht twists around in his seat to look at all of them, make sure everyone is fine, but they always are. He and Yami take good care of their pups for a pair who never planned on being parents, but life has a funny way of forcing them to change their plans.

“I’m Finral!” Finral waves to the boy now, the cold air waking him up just a little. “Are you out here all alone? You shouldn’t be. It’s gonna get really cold and snow tonight.”

“You can come with us, if you like, but you don’t have to.” Nacht knows better than to force it, because the pup might run away, and then Nacht will never see him again.

And his omega already wants this pup to come with them, wants to take him in and care for him, because instincts are a hell of a drug. Nacht has always been a better omega than anything else despite the sharp tongue he takes with other wolves who don’t belong to him.

“The car’s warm,” Finral says. “And there’s lots of us kids. You’ll have fun!”   


He’s good at selling it now. Finral was Nacht’s second pup and his first omega pup, and he’d swept him off the side of the road after a late night first shift left him stranded from a family who’d never really wanted him anyway. Nacht did. The minute he saw the small boy walking down the side of the highway, he made Yami pull over so he could pick Finral up and try to patch all the holes that had been drilled into his heart in his short life.

And now Finral smiles more than anything else, so Nacht thinks it’s working out.

The pup rocks on the balls of his feet, then tips his head up toward them. For the first time, he offers them a little smile, and Nacht breathes a sigh of relief. “My name’s Asta.”

_ Asta. _ His name could be anything. Nacht’s omega already wants to see the pup as his. “Asta,” he says, and the pup— Asta— looks at him. “Instead of having to hunt through a dumpster for trash, why don’t you come with us? You can leave anytime you want to, but we can at least make sure you get hot food, and maybe a shower, too.”

Yami didn’t  _ want _ to stop, but they should be able to find somewhere to clean the boy up.

“Hmm.” Asta watches them both, looking between them like he’s searching for something that Nacht doesn’t understand, then nods and takes a step forward. Finally,  _ finally, _ he gets close enough to set his small hand in Nacht’s own. “Okay. Maybe just for a little while.”

That should be enough time for Nacht to convince him he’s safe and sound with them.

Yami comes out of the station with a few bags dangling from one hand, and he lifts an eyebrow at him when he sees Nacht has an unfamiliar child wrapped up in his arms. Asta is an alpha. Up close, through the dirt on his skin, Nacht can smell the barely-there musk of  _ alpha _ , and that makes sense. Asta is just a kid, so he hasn’t had his proper presentation yet. It’ll be a while yet, but Yami will like that. They only have one alpha pup so far.

Finral darts off from Nacht’s side to his father, and someone with a discerning eye might notice how nimbly Finral leaps up from the asphalt to his father. Yami catches him in his free arm, the other hand weighed down with plastic bags overflowing with snacks.

“You find another one?” Yami calls out, the blue smoke of his cigarette curling up in the air.

“Might have,” Nacht says, and Asta turns to wave at Yami, smiling so hard that Yami immediately smiles back before he schools his expression once more. Idiot. “Asta, this is my mate, Yami. Yami, this is Asta. I found him rifling through the dumpster for food.”

“The dumpster? Fuck, kid, you’re lucky you didn’t get sick off that shit.” Yami meets them in front of the car, Finral’s arms wrapped around his neck, bearing the weight of their second oldest pup with ease. Easier than anyone should be able to, but he’s special.

Asta’s eyes blow impossibly wide on his small face. “You said bad words.”

“Daddy said bad words,” Finral agrees sagely, and Nacht rolls his eyes at both of them, though he can’t stop himself from smiling. Asta should stay with them. He just  _ fits. _

“Brat,” Yami says, and Finral sticks his tongue out at him without hesitation. “What is he? Another omega? Beta? Magna would probably be happy to have another beta around.”

“Alpha,” Nacht tells him, and Yami stops for just a moment. Considering that.

“It’s  _ cold, _ ” Finral complains, shivering before he shoves his face against Yami’s scarf. “Dad, I want to go back in the car where it’s warm. Are we just gonna stand around all night?”

He has a point; the weather is cold and it’s supposed to start snowing soon, and Yami wants to be on the road before it gets too bad. The storm rolling in should only come  _ after _ they reach the next city, and by that time they should finally have a real, proper home. No more moving from place to place, no more having to locate temporary homes large enough for all of them. This one is permanent, and Nacht is looking forward to having a home. To get to raise their pups in relative peace, to have some sense of stability.

“Well, Asta, welcome to the pack. Nacht, take him around the back and get him cleaned up some if you can. We’ll stop to get him a shower as soon as I find a place.” Yami carries Finral back to the car, and Nacht carries Asta to the back of it to wait for Yami.

The back of the car is where all their bags are stored for now, and it’s where Nacht has, more than once, stood to help a pup get cleaned up enough to bundle them up and tuck them into the car. It’s winter, so not the best time of the year to do this, but Yami joins him after a minute, wet wipes in hand. They get Asta cleaned up the best they can while the pup complains at them both, and Yami finds a shirt of Magna’s he can wear. Anything of Vanessa’s will be too aggressively hers for him to wear.

“It’s  _ cold, _ ” Asta grouses, and it must be when his skin’s just barely damp enough to pick up on the chill, even through the heat of an alpha’s skin. “Can I go in the car now?”

“Seat behind you is empty, babe.” Yami kisses Nacht on the temple, and Nacht leans into it for a moment. Just a moment. He isn’t as needy as some omegas yet, but Yami is a hell of an alpha. “Here, kiddo, I got a blanket for you so you’d be able to warm up.”

It’s a miracle there are no humans around to see them, and if the cashier is, they must not care. Likely they don’t, not getting paid enough to bother to care about something like this really. It works out better that way, moving unseen under human eyes, rather than having so much attention on them that any single movement could get them killed.

Nacht bundles Asta up into a blanket and buckles him into the seat behind his, next to where Finral has already fallen back asleep and tucked under his own blanket. Omegas run cold; Nacht has a blanket of his own in his seat waiting for him while Yami has on a t-shirt underneath his winter coat, and it still isn’t as heavy or thick as Nacht’s is.

“Get some sleep, all right? I’ll wake you up when we need to get you showered.” Nacht tips Asta’s head up, pressing their faces together, then gives the boy a kiss on the forehead. His omega purrs, satisfied that his new pup,  _ his _ pup, is safe and warm in the car.

“Thank you, Nacht.” Asta yawns and Nacht kisses his forehead again, then ensures the seatbelt is properly fitted before shutting the door to climb back into his own seat.

Yami is looking at him as soon as he settles in and drags his own blanket up over himself, nuzzling into the soft, familiar fabric. It’s one that smells like Yami, because they sleep with it in the hotel rooms when they occasionally stop. It’s part of Nacht’s nest when he goes into heat, too. Having his mate’s scent close by soothes him.

“You’ve got the biggest heart out of anyone I’ve ever met, y’know. I’d say even a  _ bleeding _ heart.” Yami’s voice is light, teasing, but Nacht still scowls at him as he shifts into reserve, taking them away from the bright glow of the service station. Turning back onto the dark stretch of the highway and hopefully to their new, permanent home.

“As if you’d have done anything differently if you were the one who found him.” Nacht glances at the rearview mirror. At Finral and Asta in the front, Vanessa and Gauche in the middle, and Luck and Magna in the back. Six mouths to feed now, but it should be fine.

“You’ve got me there.” Yami takes a hand off the wheel just once to stroke Nacht’s hair, and Nacht purrs immediately as he leans into it. “Get some sleep, baby. I’ll take care of the kid and then I’ll wake you up when we finally get home.”

_ Home _ has never sounded as sweet as it does right now.


	2. Chapter 2

The house is livelier these days than when they all first moved in together.

A light shines from nearly every window, warm gold filtering softly through the dreary grey afternoon. As far as Asta is concerned, this is the ideal outcome. He thought his brothers and sister might start packing up and leaving home once they found mates or decided to have pups, but the house is a big one for a reason. His parents never wanted any of them to leave, and in a proper pack, there would never be a reason to.

Pups do best when they have plenty of people to raise them. It was a miracle their parents were able to keep such a handle on them with how rambunctious they were as kids.

He parks in front of the house instead of in the driveway, nose twitching as he slips out of the car and throws his jacket over his shoulder. The rain is light, leaving damp spots on his clothing and making him shiver slightly as it rolls over his warm skin. Alphas always run hot, and Asta runs a little hotter than most. Rain doesn’t bother him as much.

The front door of the house swings inward as he walks up the little stone path that leads to the porch. There’s a set of steps on the side to reach it from the driveway and another set to reach it from the front, something he helped Dad dig out one summer when it became abundantly clear some of them needed to park out front. Tracking in wet grass and mud was sure to earn them scorn, so having a path, albeit it small, seemed smart.

It also happens to be in full view of the living room windows, and judging by the way the curtain flutters before settling, his niece was waiting for him again this afternoon.

“Asta, Asta!” The storm door swings out as soon as Asta reaches the porch, a small warm body colliding with his own. Arms that have no right to be as strong as they are throw themselves around his waist, clinging tightly to him. “You’re home! Ugh, you’re all _wet._ ”

Laughing, Asta ruffles his niece’s inky black hair and cracks a grin when she scowls up at him for doing it. “It’s raining, Sophia. I had to walk in it to get up to the porch.”

“It makes you smell like a wet dog,” Sophia complains, and Asta does not have to remind her that, in all technicality, that’s exactly what he is. “You should take an umbrella.”

Asta shakes his head, and Sophia huffs at him. “Sorry, baby, but I like the rain.”

Sophia takes him by the hand and half-drags him inside, strong for her age, an alpha just like her sire but not as delicate. Asta kicks his boots off on the mat by the front door, because his dam will surely kill him if he tracks mud through the house again. He used to as a child, but the very first time he did as an adult, Mom threatened to skin him for it.

“Where’s Finral? How’s he doing today?” Asta asks, shaking his hand free so that Sophia doesn’t try to drag him halfway across the house. She can, if she puts her mind to it.

“In the nest. The baby’s been moving around lots today.” Sophia bounces on the balls of her feet, excitement bubbling in her eyes, and Asta smiles at her. He remembers the first time Mom was pregnant, and how excited he was over getting to meet the new baby. “Rhys is there with him, too. But I came downstairs to wait for you instead.”

“I see that.” Asta eyes the couch, the very clear evidence that Sophia was standing on the cushions, leaning against the back of it so she could peer out the window for him.

“Come on! Come see!” Both hands grasp one of his own and _yank,_ and Asta lets himself be led upstairs to Finral’s room, where his big brother has been spending most of his time.

Most omegas retire to their nests in the later stages of pregnancy, and Finral is hardly different in that sense. He’d spent the last three months of his pregnancy with the twins fussing over his nest, reconstructing it until it was perfect only to have issues with it a few days later when he decided something was wrong with it. More than once, Asta or Vanessa were sent on a late night expedition to whatever store might be open to fetch something for him, and they never thought of telling Mom no when he asked them to.

It takes a pack to take care of a pregnant omega, especially one who is newly pregnant.

But this is the second pregnancy, and Finral has been much quieter, more relaxed, which Asta is happy for. He doesn’t like to see his brother stressed and upset, and doesn’t like to think that it might hurt the pup he’s carrying inside of him. Just one, this time.

“Mommy, are you awake?” Sophia drops her voice to a near-whisper when they reach the doorway of Finral’s room. The door is cracked open just enough for Asta to see the inside is dark, the curtains pulled so that Finral can rest. “Mommy, Asta’s home.”

He comes home every day after work. Sophia just likes to make a big deal out of it.

“Come on in, sweetheart, it’s all right.” Finral punctuates the words with a yawn and Asta chuckles, watching Sophia push open the door before she drags him inside.

The bed has been moved to the far corner of the room so that Finral’s nest has as much room as he could possibly want for it. There are a couple thin mattresses on the floor, beneath the pile of blankets and pillows, so plush that for a moment Asta can’t pick out his brother in the deep shadows. Only when a small head pops up— Rhys, of course— does he pick out Finral’s body beneath all the blankets. At least he must be warm.

Omegas run cold. They need as much warmth as they can get when pregnant.

“How are you feeling today?” Asta asks, letting go of Sophia’s hand as she hops into the nest with her brother and her dam. “Where’s Finesse? I was sure she’d be here with you.”

“I just sent her to the store to pick up a few things for me.” Finral sits up slowly, carefully, one hand braced on the swell of his belly where the pup inside of him is resting. “She’s been in here all day otherwise. Oh, is it raining out?”

Asta nods and comes to kneel next to the nest, because he doesn’t want to get his scent on any of it. Family or not, Finral will be more settled if the nest only smells like him, his mate, and his pups. “Yeah, it started like right after I got to work and has been off and on all day. How’s the pup doing? Sophia said he’s been moving around a lot.”

“Yeah, hold on.” Finral stifles another yawn against the palm of his hand, then tugs up the sweater he’s wearing so Asta can see the vulnerable curve of his stomach. He’s seven months along now. Just another couple, and they’ll get to meet the new pup.

With Finral’s permission, Asta is allowed to stretch out a hand, fingers carefully tracing over his skin to find where the pup is settled for the day. A sharp kick against his touch makes him smile, and he smooths his hand over that place as he drinks in the sensation of Finral’s pup moving. It always feels magical, no matter how many times he experiences it. Finral was the first of their pack to have twins, and Asta could spend hours just tracking the way Sophia and Rhys moved around while Finral complained they were too active.

“He was asleep earlier this morning when I was washing up,” Finral says, and Asta nods, retracting his hand so Finral can snuggle back down into his nest. “But the minute I laid down, of course he decided to wake up. Rhys has been talking to him all day.”

“Someone has to. So he knows what the pack sounds like!” Rhys, the spitting image of his dam, curls against Finral’s belly, tucked up under Finral’s arm.

Finral rolls his eyes while Sophia presses up against his other side, her small hand fanning over where Asta’s was a moment ago. “We’re going to have to teach him how to howl!”

“Not right now, Mommy needs sleep. Maybe later tonight if I’m awake.” Finral pulls both of his pups close to him, and Asta’s heart picks up a familiar ache that settles against his ribcage. “Let Finesse know we’re all up here when she comes in, will you?”

“No problem, Finral-nii.” Asta leans over to kiss the side of his head, giving his belly a gentle pat before escorting himself out of the room, leaving Finral and his pups to rest.

Asta would never begrudge any of his siblings their happy endings, of course. When Magna and Luck came back from a run with matching mating marks on their necks, when Finral first brought home Finesse, Asta smiled and congratulated them. Why would he be anything but happy for the people he loves, the pack he would protect with his life, the family who took him in from the cold? But it all serves as a reminder that Asta is still alone. That he has never managed to find the person he would take as his mate.

Mom is on the back porch under the awning; Asta notices him when he slips into the kitchen to get something to drink, abandoning that idea in favor of saying hello. Maybe stereotypical, but Asta does consider himself to be a Momma’s boy. In his defense, it was his dam who picked him up out of the cold and gave him a proper home.

“Asta.” Mom doesn’t have to turn around to know it’s him, and Asta ambles out onto the back porch, leaning down to press a kiss to Mom’s soft dark hair. Left down today instead of tied back, and he nuzzles into the familiar scent. “How was work today?”

“Work was good. Nothing too stressful. Think one guy was about to kiss me for saving his engine.” Asta chuckles when he sees two familiar bundles of black fur in Mom’s lap.

“Is that so? Well, you do good work for most people, so I’m not surprised.” Mom smiles up at him, and he looks peaceful here, relaxed, and Asta is glad for that. He’s an adult now, and he wants to take care of his parents, not have his parents take care of him.

“Twins asleep?” Asta carefully strokes a hand down Haru’s side, chuckling when the pup only shifts slightly on Mom’s lap before settling once again. “They’re so cute.”

“It’s hard to keep them in anything but wolf form these days, but yes, they’re very cute, so I’m not too bothered about it.” Mom coos down at them and Sora whines softly in his sleep, as if answering their mother’s distant call. “They tired themselves out playing.”

“I remember being that age. All that energy.” Asta kisses his mother’s head again, then ambles over to where his last little brother is sitting by himself, his nose in a book. “Not even going to say hi to me? What are you reading today, squirt?”

Morgen glances up at him, then marks his place in his book with a huff that tells Asta he is not happy to be interrupted. “Something for school. And I see you _every_ day.”

“So? I’m always happy to see you when I come home.” Asta sticks his tongue out at him and Morgen smacks him with the flat of his book. “Wow, rude. You have a lot of attitude.”

“He takes after Yami,” Mom muses, and Asta chokes back a snort.

“I do _not._ And fine, fine, here.” Morgen sets his book down and holds out his arms, and Asta leans down to hug him. Only twelve years old, and even if he _does_ take after their sire somewhat, he is the spitting image of their dam. The same pale blue eyes, the same pale, soft skin. The only difference is their hair, because Morgen has glossy black hair in contrast to Mom's snowy white. And an omega, which means Asta is far, _far_ more protective of him. “Welcome home. There. I said hi. Now let me read my book.”

“Sure thing.” Asta gives him a kiss, too, and Morgen tries very hard not to look pleased.

Wolves are naturally social creatures, though. They’d all grown up with parents who loved them and cherished them, who hugged them and kissed them over everything. Asta picked up on it; he assumes he’ll be the same way with his own pups one day. If he has any.

He _will_ have some. He just… Needs to find a mate of his own, is all.

“Vanessa’s not going to be back until later this evening,” Mom says, and Asta nods as he takes one of the open chairs on the porch. The rain is pleasant, soothing, and he likes the way it smells. Fresh and wet and green as it tumbles across blades of grass. “Your father’s down in the basement working on something for Finral’s coming pup.”

“I might go downstairs later and see if he wants any help.” Probably he doesn’t, but Asta likes to offer just the same. They both like to work with their hands, too.

Dad doesn’t have to work anymore. He’d worked two jobs when they first settled in here, but then they all started growing up and taking the work out of his hands for him. Not because he wasn’t capable of doing it. He still is. But all of them are grown now. Asta is the youngest of the brood they adopted, and he’s twenty-two years old, and at some point they all just agreed without having to talk about it. Their parents should not _have_ to work.

Besides, it meant their parents could stay home, take care of Morgen and the twins and be there for them as much as possible, and Asta is glad they have that. It also means they can spend a ridiculous amount of time spoiling their grandchildren if they want to.

“The rain’s supposed to let up later tonight, if you wanted to go on a run. No muddy paws in the house, though.” Mom is stern, and Asta bites back a smile. “I mean that, Asta.”

“No, I know you do. I’ll probably go for a run. Maybe take the twins with me. And Morgen, if he gets his nose out of his book.” Asta chuckles when his little brother scowls at him over the top of said book, something Asta doesn’t think he’s ever read before. Cool cover, though.

Mom hums, tightening his arms a little when the pups stir against his chest. “Maybe, if they’re awake by then, but make sure they get back safe and sound, all right?”

“Of course. You know I’d never let anything happen to them. I know the woods better than anyone else.” And maybe that’s because even when he was told _not_ to venture out so far as a pup, he went as far as his paws would take him. Fearless to the point of stupidity.

But Asta has always been like that. The memories are very distant now, too hazy to recall, but Mom said that Asta had been living in the woods when they first found him.

Maybe that’s why he feels so comfortable threading his way through the trees.

“If you want, you might take Sophia and Rhys with you. Give Finral and Finesse some time alone, and they’ll sleep easier for it,” Mom suggests, and Asta nods immediately, because that sounds like an even better plan. “Maybe Zora would go with you, if you asked.”

Zora. Fuck, not this again. “Mom, I told you. He’s nice, but… There’s nothing there.”

“No, I know, but he likes the pups, and they get along with him. For the most part.” Mom slants a glance at Morgen, who _hmphs_ and raises his book to hide behind. Twelve-year-olds hardly get along with anybody. “I’m not trying to push you two together, at least, not anymore. I thought it would be a nice match once, though, I mean. You like each other.”

“Not like that, though.” Asta wishes he did, because Zora is… Ideal, really, for an omega that would suit Asta. Sharp-witted, beautiful, funny. But just… There is nothing there, even if Asta wants there to be. “Believe me, I wish it was that easy.”

Mom smiles at him, and Asta feels the warmth of it permeate through the slight chill of the afternoon as if his dam was hugging him. “You’ll find someone. Just give it time.”

Morgen picks himself up out of his chair and pads over to Asta without a word, taking up residence in his lap and burrowing back into his book. Grateful, Asta wraps his arms around his little brother and anchors himself to the familiar scent, the familiar warmth. Going down this road is never a pleasant one, but he treads it often just the same.

Finral found Finesse when he was nineteen years old, and Magna and Luck always knew they loved each other. Vanessa and Gauche are taking their time, but for Asta, who is actively looking for someone, it feels like a lifetime has already passed him by.

Dramatic. Yeah. He can be dramatic sometimes, but he grew up watching his parents love one another, and who wouldn’t want something like that in his life? It almost makes him wish that he would imprint on someone, that his soul would just tether itself to another. It’s rare, stupidly rare, but at least it would make the hard work easy on him.

Oh well. A run tonight with the pups. He’ll feel better after that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yuno will show up next chapter i think


	3. Chapter 3

He swears that before the accident, his childhood home was warm and welcoming, a place of respite after a hard, long day of school. Now, the building is dark and cold, jutting up into the darkening grey sky and reminding Yuno that no one is waiting inside for him.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come over for dinner, at least?” Mr. Niaflem asks him, his gentle voice breaking Yuno out of his reprieve. “You know we’re happy to feed you.”

Yuno reaches for his school bag with numb fingers, tugging it up from the floor between his knees and balancing it on his lap. “No, Sir, I have plenty to eat at home.”

Even before his parents died, Yuno was self-sufficient to a frightening degree. Maybe it has to do with how smart he’s always been, or maybe he just knew how to take care of himself when he was younger. He can cook for himself, keep the house cleaned up, and handle his own laundry alongside balancing his schoolwork and however else he wants to spend his time. Usually he just reads, curled up in front of the fireplace, waiting for night to come so that he can have a try at another fitful night of sleep.

Not much to do these days, at least not much Yuno can bring himself to do.

“It’s not about you having anything to eat or not. Just… If you want the company.” Mr. Niaflem was a friend of his parents. He’d come to visit at the hospital when Yuno was first born. Yuno knows this, because he looks at the pictures sometimes.

He doesn’t like to look at them often, but sometimes he gets sentimental, and he wants the meager warmth the photographs can occasionally provide him with.

“No, I promise it’s fine. I’m just going to do my homework and then read.” If the rain lets up, he might take a walk through the woods, but he knows better than to say that.

“Well, if you’re sure…” Mr. Niaflem trails off into silence, but Yuno senses he has more to say and patiently waits for him, fiddling with the zipper on his bag. “Ralph is coming by this weekend to visit, if you want to come over. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind seeing you again.”

Yuno nods, though he barely takes in the words. “I’ll think about it, if I’m not too busy. I still have a paper to do some research on, so I might be doing that instead.”

“Maybe we’ll come over to see you then?” The hopeful lilt in Mr. Niaflem’s voice makes Yuno want to sigh, but he bites it back.  _ He’s just trying to help. He’s just trying to help because he’s worried about me. Don’t make it harder than it has to be. _

“That sounds nice,” Yuno says instead, and now Mr. Niaflem smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes the way it should. “I should go in before the rain gets worse.”

“If you need anything, you know you can call or text, right?” The same question every day, but he needs to ask this; Yuno knows that. He needs to ask, because there is precious little he can do otherwise when Yuno is the one who is in control of himself now.

Yuno reaches for the door, already starting to push it open. “I know. Bye, Mr. Niaflem.”

For all intents and purposes, Yuno is emancipated. It isn’t easy for someone his age to file for emancipation to begin with, much less as an orphan, but Yuno’s parents left him more than enough money to stay afloat for the rest of his life, if he wants that. They were wealthy, enough so that Yuno never has to pay a mind to the bills or to groceries. Mostly, he has things delivered, because asking the Niaflems to drive him a few towns over where there might be a chance no one recognizes his face is too embarrassing.

He already puts up with whispers and stares at school from all of his classmates.

His house key is in an interior pocket in his bag where he will never lose it, and Yuno quickly unlocks the front door so he can slip into the house. Everything is quiet and dark, thin grey light spilling in through the windows doing nothing to light the space and more to define the shadows. Yuno always listens to see if an intruder might have slipped in during the day, but none have. There’s an alarm system that would have gone off if they did.

Sometimes, he wishes there would be someone to jump out from the shadows. Someone who’d put him out of his misery, quick and painless. At least then he wouldn’t be alone.

“I’m home,” he calls out, but of course no one is there to hear him. No one is there to greet him, to welcome him home. There is no one here but him.

Yuno hangs his jacket up on the coat rack and sets his bag down on the couch. The cold of the day has seeped into his bones; a hot shower would do just the trick, and it might make him feel a little better. Days like this make him mope. It was raining the night his parents had their accident, and so what used to be something that soothed him and relaxed him now just reminds him of everything he had and, as a result, everything he lost.

A shower. Right. Shower, put on dinner, work on homework until he can eat.

He might need two showers if the rain lets up and he goes for a walk this evening, but there isn’t anyone else here to use up the hot water, so why not waste it?

Some days drag along slowly, every minute ticking by at an excruciating rate while Yuno waits for his body to shut down for bed. But he gets showered and finishes his homework, and by the time he’s loading the dishwasher to run after his second shower, a couple of hours have gone by. The sky is darker than it was, and the rain hasn’t really let up, but that’s fine. It’s drizzling right now, nothing a coat and umbrella won’t protect against.

The Niaflems have no idea he walks through the woods behind the property and would probably scold him for doing it. He knows it might not be safe, because there are wild animals who live in the trees and plenty of them might not take well to him wandering into their territory, but he likes the quiet walks. They make him feel better.

So he turns on the back porch lights, sharp white in the rain, and tucks a flashlight into his pocket if he doesn’t come home before it gets properly dark. Sometimes he stays out later than he should, but he never gets lost. The trees are just not dense enough for that.

His mother loved nature. That’s why they have a house out here in the middle of nowhere rather than in the city, closer to his father’s old job. He loved her enough for that.

Yuno tilts his head back. Squeezes his eyes shut. Takes several deep breaths to calm himself down, because the last thing he wants to do is to dissolve into tears and end up crying on the porch until he empties himself of emotion and crawls into bed. He wants to go for a walk, and he won’t be able to see if he’s crying all over himself.

He zips up his coat, opens his umbrella, and picks his way through the slightly overgrown backyard to his favorite path through the trees. It isn’t intentional, he doesn’t think, but maybe the people who lived here last carved it out with their footsteps.

“I suppose the rain isn’t enough to chase all of you away,” Yuno calls up to the trees, smiling softly at the soft birdsong, the twitters from branch to branch. He wonders what they’re saying to each other, but he doesn’t understand. “What song are you singing?”

Something snaps in the distance and he stills, cocking his head toward the sound. He’s seen a few small animals here and there. Raccoons and possums, a few foxes, the occasional deer. There are wolves and bears out here as well, but he hasn’t seen either yet. Hopefully he isn’t going to, because who knows how long it’d take for someone to find him out here?

Nothing after the snap, though. Maybe a tree branch weighed down by too much water, then, or an animal that scurried off after making itself known.

“Sorry if I scared you off,” he calls out softly, but there is no answering noise.

The rain picks up a little, and Yuno hugs his umbrella a little closer to his body as he picks his way around the sticks and rocks littering the path beneath his feet. He’s as careful as he can be out here, trades his sneakers for nicer hiking boots for the rougher sections of the terrain, but he probably shouldn’t be out here alone. Of course, he’d have to have someone he wants to spend time with to walk through the woods with him first.

And despite how warm and gentle they’ve been, Yuno doesn’t want the Niaflems around as much as they want to be. Something about being around a happy, well-adjusted family right now just makes him feel… Well. Feel  _ bad, _ for lack of a better word for it.

Yuno stops at the base of a tree, resting a hand against the bark, taking a few deep breaths to center himself. It’s difficult. Everything has been so hard. It’s only been  _ months _ but he feels like he should have a better handle on himself now. He shouldn’t burst into tears in the middle of class and need to be escorted out, like today.

He just needs to sit down for a minute. Take a rest. And then he can keep walking.

Normal fourteen-year-olds don’t sit in front of old, pockmarked trees trying not to cry over their dead parents. Normal fourteen-year-olds wouldn’t wander around in the woods just to escape the emptiness of a house that used to be filled with love and warmth. Normal fourteen-year-olds have families who love them, parents who would be looking for them, but Yuno… Has no one and nothing now. So he has to watch out for himself.

He sits on a tree root to stay out of the mud and grass, resting his elbows on his knees and gazing down at the ground beneath his feet. He can see worms wiggling to the surface of the mud, looking for moisture, and knows the birds will be happy about that. A small feast for them. Maybe they’re singing about that. For all he knows, they might be.

A long school day. A dreary rainy day. Yuno chalks his wandering, tired mind up to these things. Because usually he’d have been able to pick up the approach of something, even something as small as a wolf puppy that slowly, carefully creeps into view in front of him.

_ A wolf puppy. _ Out here in the drizzle, peeking up at him with bright, curious blue eyes.

Yuno’s heart stops beating. His mouth falls open at first, not quite sure he is seeing what is right in front of his face. Mother used to tell him there were wolves out here, and that was why he should never wander out into the woods alone, but Yuno hasn’t ever seen one no matter how much he looks. Until now. Until he needs to sit in the rain to breathe, and suddenly a baby just wanders up in front of him, standing between his boots.

“Hi,” he whispers, half-expecting the pup to leap back away from him and take off in the opposite direction. Baby animals tend to. If someone holds still enough, they might approach, but most of them tend to run away. Self-preservation, and all. “You’re so small…”

And it is small. He knows nothing about the growth cycle of wolves, but he knows a puppy when he sees one. The face is still a little too round, the body small, the fur soft and fluffy and the paws too big for the rest of it. A black wolf, which he thinks might be kind of rare— And its little tail wags so hard that its body shakes just a little. How  _ cute. _

“Where’d you come from?” Yuno shifts slowly to offer the pup his hand to smell, which might just get him bitten, and how would he ever explain that to the Niaflems?  _ Sorry, I just like to wander out in the woods alone, and I thought I should try to pet a wolf. _

Maybe he should try living life on the edge a little. He might feel something for a change.

The pup yips at him, gives his fingers a couple of lips and then tries to press up under his hand, like it wants to be pet. He doesn’t think a wolf pup would know to do that, but maybe this one has been around humans before. Might explain why it seems so bold.

“Just a little,” he murmurs, because the once in a lifetime chance of petting a real, wild wolf seems to be working out for him. Like he gets to have one good thing today.

The fur under his fingers is soft, not as coarse as he expects it to be, and the pup whines and arches up under his hand. A happy whine, he guesses, and he makes a mental note to maybe read up a little on wolves when he goes home this evening. Might make the last few hours before bed pass by faster, and at least he can maybe explain some of this.

When the second wolf pup comes ambling easily through the underbrush, he gasps.

It looks identical to the one he’s petting, maybe a little smaller, and trots up to him like it’s never had to be afraid of a human in its life. Yuno likes that for them, that no one has ever hurt or scared them, but he hopes they don’t do this often. They might wander up to a hunter, and he doubts some people would be kind enough to let pups leave.

“Hold on,” he murmurs, carefully balancing his umbrella on his shoulder so he can pet both at the same time. Twin wolf pups. What are the odds of finding them out here? “I hope you two have somewhere to go to stay out of the rain. It might storm tonight.”

The second pup nips his fingers and Yuno laughs softly, giving its ears a skritch that has it closing its bright blue eyes in pleasure. They’re both so sweet that if he was stupid enough, he might mistake them for any pair of regular pups.

If he was stupid, he might bundle them up in his coat and take them in out of the rain.

But Yuno is smart. Smart enough to know not to take two wild animals home no matter how much he wants to, how much brighter and happier the house would be if he had them to watch after. The Niaflems would definitely find out, and he isn’t equipped to take care of two wild animals anyway. Wolves get big, and aggressive, and they might grow up and mistake him for food one day if they get hungry enough to be desperate for it.

And besides, they probably have a parent nearby who’d be watching him kidnap them—

The  _ snap _ is loud, startling. Yuno’s heart leaps up into his throat as his head jerks up, his pulse pounding so hard in his throat it almost hurts. A parent. That has to be a parent.

He expects the pups to wander off after the sound, but they both chorus a series of high-pitched, excited barks. Yuno stands because he’s scared, eyeing the path back to his house and wondering if he’d make it if he sprinted. He knows what’s approaching them now.

It still takes his breath away, because the wolf who threads its way through the trees carefully, stepping over fallen tree limbs and patches of mud, is a bright, pale silver.

“Oh.” The sound slips through his lips before he can stop himself. Because this wolf is  _ much _ larger than the pups, and Yuno thinks he doesn’t know how big a wolf is at all now that he sees this one. It seems impossibly huge in the gloom, standing out against the browns and greens of the forest. Like it doesn’t belong there, and yet it does.

The pups hurry up to the larger wolf, which takes the time to nose and lick each one of them, as if checking to make sure neither of them were hurt. And then it looks up at Yuno, directly at him, golden eyes almost glowing in the shadows, head cocked to the side.

He isn’t prepared for this much larger, much more dangerous wolf to approach him.

“I’m sorry!” The words burst forth without warning, but the wolf only walks up to him, black nose twitching as its head tips from side to side, ears perked. “I didn’t mean to—”

A soft  _ woof. _ Yuno stops entirely, the rest of his words heavy on his tongue.

Goosebumps spread down his back through the layers of his shirt and coat when his ears pick up the distant but melodic howl, the call of another wolf. Just his luck to wander into the territory of probably an entire pack. He’s lucky he didn’t get killed for it.

The pups yap and bark, running around the legs of the silver wolf, as if trying to get its attention. Maybe they need to go.  _ Probably _ they need to go, because Yuno has come out here a thousand times and never seen them. Maybe they just wandered out too far, and their parent was coming to bring them back to the pack. That makes sense.

He still watches them go. Breath caught in his throat. Hairs on his nape standing on end.

The silver wolf stops to look back at him no less than three times, and he wonders why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> now i wonder who that silver wolf might have been


	4. Chapter 4

He should have known better than to turn his back on the twins for even a  _ second. _

Asta grumbles as he picks his way through the trees, stepping carefully over bulging tree roots and slippery grass as he sniffs out his little siblings. Not that he can begrudge them for being curious, but Haru and Sora are too young to be wandering around on their own. The last thing he needs is for one of them to get captured or injured, and then Mom will quite literally skin him and tan his hide so that he never forgets about it.

Rain makes it easy to track them by sight, difficult to track them by smell. Asta tries anyway, sniffing the small paw prints in the mud before continuing on through the trees. They shouldn’t be out this far, because there are houses tucked away into some parts of these woods, and he does not want anyone to come into contact with his little siblings.

His family has been careful, and as a result has been lucky. Some other packs, not so much. Humans panic when they see wolves, because human fear is an easy flame to fan. Some wolves get hurt, some get shot, and Asta would never forgive himself if his brothers were hurt because he let his attention wander for just a moment. So he needs to find them before someone else does, especially if that someone else might be volatile.

_ It’s what happened to my brother, _ Mom told him once, back when Asta was still small enough to fit in his lap, and young enough to want to be there.  _ So you have to be careful, little one. Humans can’t be trusted, especially if their automatic reaction is fear. _

Fear makes humans stupid. Makes prey stupid. Asta knows that himself.

He blames being upwind for not realizing that someone else is here until he manages to break through the treeline to see where his brothers have gone. Blames the fact that he is just a little more reckless than he should be, though it isn’t like a human would be able to smell him coming in the first place. But when he hears his brothers barking for him, he breathes a sigh of relief and trots in their direction, happy that the two of them are safe and sound, and that nothing and no one has gotten to them to hurt them.

When he gets closer, though, he can make out the exact thing they’re trying to say.

_ Asta, Asta! _ The chorus of his own name makes his tail wag just a little before it abruptly drops.  _ Come on, come here! There’s a nice boy in the woods! He pet us! _

Fuck.  _ Fuck. _ Asta wants to run to them, but the trees are too close together, so he has to be careful or he risks hurting himself. But when he finally does see his brothers— alive and safe and whole, little fluffy balls of black fur with tails wagging so hard they might fall over— he sees the unmistakable shape of a human standing behind them.

That human must live here. They wandered onto his property.  _ Damn it, you two. _

Sora reaches him first, almost stumbling over his own, too large paws in the process.  _ Asta, the human boy! He’s so nice. He pet us. I think he’s scared of you, though. _

Of course he is. Any human would be afraid of a full-grown wolf. Asta carefully sniffs his little brother, then licks him to calm him down. Safe. No blood smells, no fear smells even though Sora should know better than to approach a human like this. They both should, and now that they have and didn’t get hurt, it will be even more difficult to keep them from doing something this foolish in the future. Asta can just feel it in his bones.

Haru joins them, and Asta sniffs him just as critically.  _ The human is sad, Asta. _

That would explain wandering around outside in a rainstorm, at least. Asta doesn’t really care one way or the other, because humans have their own issues to deal with, and he has his. And his issues, right now, are that his two little brothers wandered off into the woods, into direct danger, and don’t even seem to have realized they—

The human boy shifts. Asta can  _ feel _ it more than he can see it, but a quick glance up at the hiking boots— good for this terrain and weather, at least— lets him see the weight shift from foot to foot. Nervous? He should be. If he isn’t armed, then Asta is the much more dangerous of the two of them, and any human with a working brain would know that. Of course, any human with a working brain wouldn’t pet two wolf puppies, either.

Doesn’t he know that his scent will be on them? Doesn’t he know that a  _ real _ wolf might take serious offense to this? He’s lucky Asta isn’t a wolf. He’s lucky that—

The boy shifts again, and Asta glances up at him to see what he’s planning.

_ You’ll know, _ Dad told him once, when he asked.  _ It’s impossible not to know on sight, kid. _

The human boy is beautiful. Tall and willowy, with startling deep golden eyes that gaze at Asta from beneath softly tousled black hair that he desperately,  _ desperately _ wants to comb his fingers through. Delicate features and slim lips parted around a silent sound that Asta’s ears strain to hear, but he picks up nothing. The boy’s posture is rigid, still, now that Asta is looking at him. Why is he afraid? He never has to be afraid. Not of Asta.

Asta would never hurt him. Ever. Asta would never  _ dream _ of trying to harm him.

It’s a pressure in his chest, coiling tight beneath the left side of his ribcage. It expands until he almost feels like he might break under it, like his bones will shatter and his skin will split. And then it  _ does _ explode, bright and hot and racing through every centimeter of his body. Settling warm and heavy in his gut, in his chest, a sureness and satisfaction and confidence he’s never experienced. There’s no room for doubt, for uncertainty.

This one. This is  _ the _ one. All the pieces have finally clicked into place.

_ You’re so beautiful, _ Asta thinks, drinking in the lovely features, the slender fingers wrapped around the handle of the umbrella, the pale throat where he can see the boy’s pulse beating so rapidly. Nervous, but he doesn’t have to be, because Asta’s teeth and claws exist only to shield him, to protect him, to keep him safe.  _ I’ve been waiting for you my entire life, and you’re more than I ever could have dreamed of. _

He moves forward without thinking about it. Without meaning to. His paws carry him over the mud and the grass toward the boy, toward his  _ soulmate. _ The other half of him, out here in the woods in the rain, but it’s fine. It’s okay now. Asta can keep him warm.

“I’m sorry!” The boy presses himself against the tree at his back, and Asta frowns, because what could he have to be sorry for? He hasn’t done anything wrong.

Asta takes a few steps closer to him, sniffing the air. Hard to smell around the rain but this close, he can pick up the boy’s scent with much more ease. It’s subtle in the downpour, an ozone scent overlaid with something soft and floral, clear and sure. Asta remembers when his parents hauled them all up to a mountain cabin for a vacation, how the air smelled fresh and clean and thin up that high. This boy smells like that. Like the mountain air.

All Asta wants to do is bury his face in that soft skin, that dark hair, and breathe him in.

The boy’s entire body tenses again when Asta steps closer to him. “I didn’t mean to—”

It’s instinct, really, to woof at him. Softly, gently, to calm him down. He must be worried about touching the pups, so maybe Asta was wrong about him being stupid enough to do such a thing. He must have been wrong about that. And then he remembers Haru telling him the boy is sad, and Asta has to fight hard to hold back a soft whine of pain.

His mate should never be sad. He should always be happy, given everything he wants and needs in his life so that every need is fulfilled. Asta would indulge him like that. Take care of him like that. Just like Dad takes care of Mom, just like Finesse takes care of Finral, Asta is capable of being that alpha for this boy. Human or not, it doesn’t matter.

He almost shifts back to his human skin. Right in front of a human who doesn’t know.

Zora’s howl is what stops him. Distant but loud enough to echo through the cotton fluff of his thoughts, remind him who he is and where he is. Haru and Sora dart up to him, yapping at him, almost falling over in the mud because their tails wag so quickly. Of course. They always liked Zora, and they’re still taking howling lessons from him.

_ Asta, Asta, we have to go! _ Sora paws at his foreleg and Asta gives his head a little shake, because yes, they have to go. It’’s cold and wet, and Morgen was miserable even before Asta had to come hunt down the pups.  _ We can come see the boy some other time. _

The boy. The human. Asta’s beautiful mate who is so, so afraid of him.

Sora nips at his foreleg, and Asta takes one step back. It takes all the effort in the world to do that, because it feels like his very heart is leading him forward.  _ Morgen is waiting! _

Right. Morgen is waiting, and Asta needs to take all the pups home and give them a warm bath to make sure none of them catch a cold from being out in the rain. Wolves have a better immune system than any human Asta has ever known, but he doesn’t want them to get sick. He remembers the first time the twins caught a cold and how their soft, tired whines broke his heart and made him feel helpless for not being able to fix it.

Every step away from the human boy feels like a mistake. Feels like his very soul demanding to know where the fuck he’s going, and how  _ dare _ he leave the boy he has imprinted on behind, but Asta doesn’t have a choice. He has to go home. He  _ has _ to.

A human. He imprinted on a human boy. How could he have imprinted on a human boy?

The weight of it settles on his shoulders with every step away he takes, every part of his body that he manages to turn away to lead the pups back to Zora. Imprints are special. Unique. Hardly any wolf is lucky enough to imprint, and their pack was blessed enough to have  _ two _ such relationships. His parents, and Finral and Finesse, and Asta wasn’t there to see either of them happen. He could only ask after, ask what it felt like.

Fuck. How could he have done this? This has to be a mistake. It has to be.

His head tilts back of its own accord, toward the human boy still watching from his tree. He looks so pale, so thin, what is he doing all alone out here in the woods? Where is his family? Fuck, he looks so young. Probably just a  _ kid. _ Asta imprinted on a  _ kid. _

No. He has to head home right now. The pups need to be taken care of.

_ But he was petting them, and he was nice to them. Maybe if I just explain, maybe if I show him the change and just explain to him… Maybe we can wash them off together— _

How fucking stupid. How idiotic. The human would probably pass out from the shock.

But Asta looks back at him. Again. And again. Those lovely golden eyes that would look perfect in the face of a beautiful black wolf. Still watching them, still picking out their movements, and he still looks so startled and afraid that it takes every ounce of willpower Asta still has not to go back to him and comfort him. He should have let the boy touch him, pet him, to reassure him that none of them were going to hurt him.

No. Because that might scare him worse. Because Asta is  _ huge _ in his wolf form, bigger than he is as a human, and the boy was smart to be afraid of a wild animal to begin with.

By the time they break through the woods and reach the clearing where Zora is waiting with Morgen and Finral’s twins, Asta feels like leaving at all was a massive mistake.

Zora barks at him, cocks his head, ears flicking in the rain.  _ What’s wrong? You look down. _

_ Nothing. Everything’s fine. _ Asta barks back at him, and Zora clearly does  _ not _ believe him, blue eyes studying him with an intensity that he is far too used to, but he lets it go.

The walk back home is a long one. Asta has to shift back to human skin to carry his little brothers home when they start whining at his feet, too small and too tired to make the long trip back after their detour. It’s fine. The cold rain against his bare, unprotected human skin— only his jeans ever survive the change, it seems— helps him steady his mind. Haru and Sora smell like wet dog, but he doesn’t mind that either, cradling them against his chest, one in each arm, and murmuring to them while they rest in his embrace.

Asta imprinted. After spending years waiting to meet the right person, after so many wolves he just never connected with, after so many conversations about it with his parents, after watching his siblings meet their mates, settle down, start to have pups… Asta finally imprinted. Like destiny herself was taking it all out of his hands.

And the person he imprinted on was a human boy. Just a human boy.

Mom is waiting for them on the back porch, standing to meet them, to take the tired pups from Asta’s arms, kissing each of them when they yip a soft greeting. Sophia and Rhys are muddy, so Zora catches them before they reach the porch, wolf one second and human the next, so he can carry them inside and not spray mud everywhere.

Morgen is old enough to take care of himself, but he gives Asta a strange look as they all head into the house together. There are warm towels waiting for them to dry off, and the entire time Asta is trying to coax as much water as possible out of his hair, Morgen stares at him. Like he can read it on Asta’s face that something must have happened.

“Wait just a moment.” Mom sniffs Haru, then Sora. Scents them with his nose, then opens his mouth to do it more properly. “Did you meet someone out there? They smell odd.”

Fuck. The rain hadn’t washed the human’s scent off of their fur. “I…” Asta trails off, and he can’t bring himself to say anything. To explain. How can he possibly tell Mom that he finally found his soulmate, only that it’s just a human boy? “I… They… I saw…”

The heavy pull in his chest is painful, and Asta wonders if he can go his entire life ignoring it. Because he can’t possibly have a human soulmate. The complications are immense. What if he’s even more afraid when he finds out Asta is a wolf? What if he hates him? What if he looks at Asta’s entire family with fear and disgust, afraid of all of them?

“I found him.” It comes out in a half-whisper, and Mom stares at him for a long moment, pale blue eyes searching, expression carefully set. Jaw locked. “I didn’t mean to… The twins wandered off, I wasn’t watching, I’m  _ sorry, _ and… Mom, I… I found  _ him _ .”

“Morgen, take your brothers, please.” Mom hands the twins off and Morgen takes them without a word. He looks just like Mom, the same blue eyes, but his are wide with shock, with disbelief, like he knows  _ instantly _ but cannot believe it. “Asta, honey, they smell like—”

Asta doesn’t mean to interrupt. He doesn’t. He’s a good boy. He’d never disrespect his mother like this. “A human. I… I know, I… Mom, he’s a human. I found him, and he’s human.”

_ I found my soulmate, and I don’t know if he’ll ever be able to love me back. _

“Fuck,” Zora whispers, and Asta can’t even wish it had been him all this time. Can’t even wish that he’d been able to find a wolf, because his heart  _ throbs _ just at the memory of that lovely face, those golden eyes, the way they’d watched him. That mountain scent, like rolling in the grass on a warm spring day up where the air is so thin and clean.

Mom’s face softens, and Asta drops the towel he’s holding. He doesn’t mean to. His hands are shaking. “Baby, it’s all right. We’ll… We’ll figure something out, it’s all right.”

He doesn’t even know when his mother embraces him, warm arms pulling him close and chasing away the chill of the rain. But it doesn’t chase away the heaviness in his chest, that pull that Asta could follow right back to that boy if he wanted to. He could be anywhere in the world and Asta would find him, just following the invisible thread between them. The one wrapped so tight around his heart he can barely breathe around it. He doesn’t even realize he’s crying until Mom hushes him, until Sophia and Rhys are wrapped around his legs like they can do something to make all of this easier on him.

An imprint, and it might have been on someone who will never be capable of loving him back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh, asta...


	5. Chapter 5

“Sorry to cut into your weekend like this.” Mr. Niaflem apologizes for the third time since picking Yuno up from school, and Yuno makes a vague noise to let him know everything is fine without having to look up from his book. “Didn’t really expect to have problems with the damn car, and the mechanic’s the only one in town not booked all weekend long.”

Yuno dips his head in a half-nod, more focused on the color photographs this book has to offer him. It’s the second one he picked up from the school library this week, devouring the first in a matter of hours and taking extensive notes. “It’s fine, Mr. Niaflem.”

“You’re a good kid. I wouldn’t blame you for being a little pissed to have to sit around the shop and wait for Ralph to pick us up.” Mr. Niaflem laughs, a self-deprecating sound more than anything else, but Yuno barely hears it. His independent research is more interesting.

Even as a child, Yuno consumed books at a rapid enough rate that it made his teachers interested in his intelligence and how well he absorbed the knowledge he often hunted down. Yuno never really picked up on it being unusual, but any book he could get his hands on as a child, he would sit and puzzle out until he was satisfied and finished it. He likes fiction novels mostly, prone to picking out psychological thrillers or mystery novels to give him cases to solve alongside the protagonist. This is his first non-fiction book in a while.

The wolf puppies and the beautiful adult wolf who came to retrieve them left quite an impression on him, is all. He still hears the echoing howl of wolf song in his head when he closes his eyes. Still sees those golden eyes looking up at him, wild and bright and so gorgeous he sees them in his dreams. No wonder people love wolves so much.

“What are you reading?” Mr. Niaflem glances at him at a red light, and Yuno lifts the book just enough, moving his fingers so the cover is visible. “Oh. Getting into wildlife like Ciel?”

The casual mention of his mother’s name makes Yuno’s gut twist just a little, but he shifts in his seat and nods. Nothing wrong with being interested in what she was. “I like wolves.”

“Saw a couple hiking one year,” Mr. Niaflem says; Yuno marks his place in the book and looks up at him, curious. “Nocturnal, y’know, they hunt at night usually.”

Yuno nods. It was one of the first things mentioned in both books, and something he took note of. He saw those wolves when night was coming. “I’ve been reading about that, yeah.”

“Was hiking with your folks. Left you and Ralph with a babysitter, because both of you were too young to come with us.” Mr. Niaflem turns his eyes back to the road when the light changes color, but Yuno focuses on him now. Pays attention, because he’s curious and Mr. Niaflem has never mentioned this before. “It was getting pretty late, but we had lanterns and flashlights. Figured we could just make our way back in the dark.”

“I don’t think you ever talked about hiking with them before,” Yuno muses, though he remembers his parents wanting to take him out often. Remembers long summer nights around the campfire, listening to the calls of distant animals.

Mr. Niaflem laughs and rubs his jaw, over the bristly red beard there. “Well, I wasn’t the biggest fan of it. Loyce told me I was too big of a baby about it. He was probably right.”

“When did you see the wolves?” Not that Yuno doesn’t want to hear stories about his parents, but… The last few days have been good days, and he wants to go into the weekend feeling good instead of letting himself wallow in memories of the past again.

“It was fall. Nice time to go hiking. Hadn’t rained in a while so the ground was firm, and it wasn’t too hot. Ciel said wolf pups start hunting when they’re about six months old.” Mr. Niaflem curses softly when another light catches them. “So we’re sitting down, taking a rest before we head back down. Just this path up into the woods, nothing really.”

The woods. Yuno swallows as he nods, making a small noise to coax him to keep talking. He doesn’t know  _ why _ he finds himself so fascinated in wolves now, but… After seeing them so close, after getting to touch the pups, he wants to know more. So much more.

And a distant, idiotic part of him wants to see them again and hopes he might.

“It was up on a hill, kind of overlooking this clearing, and we saw them come out of the trees. Couple of grown wolves and some pups. Cute little things, you know.” Mr. Niaflem chuckles and Yuno nods, his heart beating a little faster. He  _ does _ know about that.

“They’re pretty big when they’re old enough to start hunting.” Bigger than the puppies Yuno saw, which means they probably shouldn’t have been out at all. Probably wandered off, which is why the big silver wolf came to get them both. Silly things.

Mr. Niaflem nods and rubs his beard again, and his expression is… Distant, now. Quiet. “Ciel told us to be quiet so we could watch them. They were out in the clearing for a bit, pups played with each other mostly. Might have been with their parents, might have been siblings, you never know. Packs raise the pups together. It was a nice evening.”

Yuno doesn’t have to imagine it. He’d lived it. Even walking back to his house after the fact, head in a daze and not quite able to process it, it felt like something had changed. Like he wouldn’t really be the same person, like meeting the wolves left such an impression on him.

He kept waiting for the big wolf to hurt him. To snarl or snap at him for touching the pups.

“After they went off into the trees, we headed back down to the cars.” Mr. Niaflem clears his throat, and Yuno glances at the road just in time to see them starting to pull off to the side. “Auto shop is right here. Not been to this one before, but hell, they were open.”

At fourteen, Yuno isn’t old enough to drive yet, so he hardly knows anything about any of the auto shops in town. He drags his bag up into his lap as Mr. Niaflem parks in front of the shop, stepping out of the car and following him into the main part of the building. Most of it is a huge, open garage, and he imagines the building is just to take in customers. He doesn’t really know, but he supposes he’ll find out in due time.

The man behind the counter glances up when they step into the shop, a bell over the door ringing softly to alert him to their presence. He looks like a punk. Hair streaked grey and black is gelled back from his face, blue-tinted glasses balanced on the bridge of his nose making it hard for Yuno to tell what his normal eye color would be. He’s young, too.

Yuno kind of imagined… Older, to be honest, but again, he doesn’t know that much.

“Can I help you?” The man is wearing just a plain black t-shirt, but not a  _ nice _ shirt. Probably one he doesn’t mind getting dirty. “Oh, wait, you dropping off your car?”

Mr. Niaflem nods, slipping his wallet out of his back pocket while Yuno hovers near the couch and chair in the corner of the room. “Yes, sorry for such short notice. I spoke to, ah, I think he said his name was Asta? This morning. My son’s coming to pick us up.”

The two of them start talking and Yuno sinks down in the chair, setting his bag carefully on the ground between his feet to keep it out of the way before he goes back to his book. Ralph is going to pick them up and take them back to the Niaflems, where Yuno will eat dinner with them and hopefully have the rest of the weekend to himself. He wants to walk out in the woods again, maybe when the sun is dying behind the horizon. Maybe the wolves will come back, or he might be able to find some sign of their passage in the dirt.

A soft  _ ding _ makes him glance up. Curiosity more than anything else, the sound drawing his attention away from a passage detailing the hunting habits of young wolves.

“Oi, Asta, there you are.” The man behind the counter waves a slip of paper at the man who just walked in the door, but Yuno barely pays attention to that. “Late back from lunch.”

“Not my fault! Finral asked me to grab something for him, and there was a long line.” The man— Asta— shrugs out of his jacket at the door, tossing it up on the row of hooks Yuno hadn’t noticed. “You can go, I’ll handle this. We spoke over the phone this morning, Sir?”

Mr. Niaflem nods, and Asta exchanges places with the punk behind the counter. And Yuno slowly raises his book once more, though his eyes aren’t on the words anymore.

All he can do is stare behind the counter at Asta, who might be the most incredibly handsome man Yuno has had the privilege of laying his eyes on.

He’s  _ gorgeous _ in a way that even some of the most conventionally handsome boys at school aren’t. Surprisingly short but well-built. His biceps strain at the sleeves of his shirt and his forearms are so thick that Yuno’s mouth dries just looking at them, imagining how the muscles might feel under his fingers. Nice hands, too, rough from hard work. A little scarred here and there, but if he works with cars, that makes a lot of sense. Even his  _ neck _ is thick, all that muscle on casual display above the collar of his shirt.

One of those hands runs through tousled, ashy silver hair while wide, spring green eyes peer down at the paperwork on the desk. “You should be able to pick the car up tomorrow.”

“You’re sure? I know it’s short notice to be dropping it off on a Friday anyway.” Mr. Niaflem sounds apologetic; Yuno notes how quickly Asta’s lips twitch up in a gentle, cajoling smile. Oh, he’s  _ kind, _ too. Or at least good with customers. “I’m sorry about that.”

“No reason to be! Things happen. Just go ahead and pull your car into the garage, and I’ll have a look at it. Then we can talk about what needs to be done.” The warm, easy cadence of Asta’s voice makes Yuno’s skin feel hot and itchy. It’s been a long time since he’s seen someone else and thought they were attractive enough that it affected him like this.

He feels a little silly, but he’s  _ fourteen. _ Puberty, hormones, whatever. Asta is a really good-looking man, and it isn’t like Yuno is around that many of them anyway.

Yuno glances back down at his book, chastising himself for staring so much.

“I’m going to call Ralph and let him know he can come get us.” Mr. Niaflem addresses the words to him, and Yuno hums to let him know he heard. “Be back in just a minute.”

The bell  _ dings _ again and Yuno peers out of the corner of his eye to confirm that Asta is still behind the desk. Shuffling the paperwork around, tapping at the computer perched on the desk, and Yuno wonders if he should say something. Is it awkward to just sit here in the quiet reading a book? Maybe he should say hello. He just doesn’t talk to people enough these days to know if or when he should be trying to make polite conversation.

“Your dad’s lucky. We didn’t have too much work to do today when he called.” Asta is the one who breaks the silence himself, though he’s looking at his computer screen.

Yuno lowers his book carefully, marking his place so he doesn’t lose it. There’s no reason for this to be difficult. Talking is… Normal, and besides, Asta is an adult. Not a teenage boy, definitely too old for Yuno to be so flustered just talking to him. “He’s not my dad.”

“Oh, my bad.” Another few taps at the keyboard, and Yuno swallows past the roughness in his throat. His palms feel warm, a little sweaty, and he shifts his book from hand to hand as he wipes them carefully on his pants. “Guess it was kind of a weird assumption because you two don’t really look alike, but some people only favor one parent.”

“Family friend.” Yuno takes a deep breath and glances outside. Mr. Niaflem is just pulling the car into the garage. “You like working on cars? Is that, like, decent money?”

Asta chuckles faintly. “Yeah, I like working on cars. Family business. We do pretty well.”

_ Family business. _ The punk from before must have been a brother or cousin or something, and for some reason that’s so stupidly wholesome that Yuno smiles despite himself. Family things usually… Make him uncomfortable to talk or think about, but he needs to get better about that. No reason to inflict his misery on other people who can’t control their life circumstances, and it isn’t like anyone knows him well enough to just  _ know _ about his life.

Some people do. But Asta obviously doesn’t. He’d know Mr. Niaflem isn’t Yuno’s father.

“Looks like he brought the car in. I’ll get started on it so he can come and get it as soon as possible.” Asta scribbles something down, then neatens up a stack of papers in front of him and staples them. “Want to give him these when he comes back in? He said something about a phone call so he’ll probably get back here before I do.”

“Um, sure.” Yuno raises to his feet to take the sheaf of papers Asta offers him, careful not to touch him because that would just be weird. And Yuno is not  _ weird. _

“What’s that?” Asta lets go of the papers slowly, but his eyes are fixed on the book in Yuno’s hand now. Suddenly everyone cares about his reading material.

_ He’s just being polite, _ Yuno reminds himself. Customer service is a horrible industry to work in most of the time, so it makes sense for Asta to just want to be kind and polite to him. Probably he thinks the same way that Mr. Niaflem does, that having to come here on a Friday is a horrible way to start the weekend. Some people are just naturally nice.

“A book about wolves.” Yuno shifts the paperwork so he can show Asta the cover of the book. There’s a grey wolf there, golden eyes peering out, though not as bright as the ones of the wolf Yuno met. It still struck him when he saw it. “I like wolves.”

“Wolves, huh.” Asta smiles at him, and Yuno’s heart does a little flip in his chest. Act  _ normal _ for a change, he tells himself. He should have known he wasn’t above the sweaty palms and butterflies in the stomach that Mimosa talked about when she’d met someone she liked. Just, Yuno doesn’t like that many people. He has peculiar tastes, maybe.

One upperclassman at his school that has no idea he exists and is so out of his league that Yuno doesn’t even really  _ think _ about him like that. And a randomly cute mechanic. It’s fine.

“They’re really beautiful.” Yuno thinks of the puppies, their glittering blue eyes and their huge paws and their cute little teeth nipping at his fingers. Of the grey wolf, again, for the thousandth time. “Really smart, too. I, um, live out in the woods, saw some around the property and thought I’d start looking into them more. Just curious, I guess.”

It sounds stupid. It sounds  _ so _ stupid but Yuno is not ready to let a stranger judge him for being out and about with wild wolves like only an idiot would be.

Asta raises his eyebrows, and it really only draws Yuno’s attention to his eyes. How  _ green _ they are, how vibrant, how rich a shade that he didn’t know eyes could be. “Hope you’re careful if you see any. Mostly they’ll leave people alone, but you could get hurt.”

“I know. They’re wild animals even if they do just look like really big dogs to some people. And they’re predators, of course, they hunt.” And a wolf hungry enough might attack him, so he really does need to be careful— Not that he will be. Yuno  _ is _ going to go looking for them, at least this weekend, just to see if they might still be out there. “Puppies are cute, though, even if they are wild animals you aren’t supposed to mess with.”

“Yeah. You’re right. They are cute.” Asta smiles at him, the corners of his eyes crinkling a little with the warmth of it, and Yuno’s heart absolutely  _ races _ at the sight of it. Holy  _ shit _ is he cute, not just handsome. “Well, I hope you enjoy your book. Supposed to rain a lot this weekend, so probably a good time to get a lot of reading done.”

Reading, and finishing his report for school. And looking for wolves in his backyard. “Maybe a walk in the woods or two, too. The fresh air is good when the house gets stuffy.”

“Yeah?” Asta nods a little and Yuno swallows hard, not sure why he’s saying so much. He feels so  _ stupid _ right now. This man has a job and a life and Yuno is here, talking his ear off about wolves and walks in the woods. “Well, then, I hope you enjoy it. And be careful if you see anything out there, all right? Some animals attack if they get spooked.”

“I will be, thanks.” Yuno dips his head a little, and Asta excuses himself to head through a door that must lead to the garage. Right. He has work to do. This is his shop.

Yuno’s heart beats too,  _ too _ fast even after Mr. Niaflem comes to wait for Ralph with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oho look who happened to stumble into each other~


	6. Chapter 6

Because of the imprint, Asta knows his soulmate is waiting in the shop.

Life has a funny way of walking his life all the more difficult. Days have passed and the pull around his ribcage, twine wrapped tight around his bones and tighter still around his heart, has settled into a comfortable ache by the time he sees the boy again. The one from the woods, this time dressed in a nice button-down and pants, his nose tucked into a book and looking far calmer than he had before. A book about  _ wolves; _ Asta notices the cover long before he mentions the book, and his heart beats staccato against his sore ribs.

As long as he stays away from the boy, the ache will settle into something dull, a pain he can never quite escape but that he can learn to live with. Dad told him about it, once he finished crying out all the tears he held into Mom’s shoulder. When everyone was in bed, and it was just the two of them and the rain splattering against the roof.

And he knows the exact, certain moment that the two are picked up from the shop because the pressure in his chest suddenly  _ bursts _ and then settles again. Instinct warring with his humanity, demanding he chase the boy down, and then silence when he’s gone.

“Fuck!” Asta, crouched on the floor, falls onto his knees, hands slapping against the concrete. The sharp scents of oil and gasoline and the metallic tang of all vehicles clouded his nose well enough, cleaning it out of that fresh mountain air scent, but it isn’t until the boy leaves that he feels any sense of comfort. How can he possibly live like this?

“Asta?” Magna pokes his head out of the door connected to their little makeshift office, concern etched across his face as he watches Asta pant against the ground. “That was him, wasn’t it? I didn’t wanna say anything, but… He looked like what you said he did.”

“Yeah, that was him.” And like an idiot, Asta couldn’t keep his mouth shut. He can justify it with small talk all he wants, but the urge to say something,  _ do _ something, was too strong to ignore. At least the redheaded man was not the boy’s actual father.

So Asta can avoid seeing him again when the man comes to pick up his car on Monday.

Magna shoots a cursory glance back into their office before walking into the garage, leaving the door cracked just enough. Their wolf senses are powerful; either of them would hear the bell ring with the door shut, but giving humans the wrong impression can be dangerous. Some of them know what signs to look for when it comes to wolves, and Asta has no intentions of luring them back to his family through their family business.

“Hey, it’s all right.” Magna’s hand is gentle when it comes to rest on top of his back, and Asta pants harshly through his mouth, sweat beading on his forehead. “He’s gone now.”

“How am I supposed to deal with this? What if I see him at the store or something?” That… Would be bad, and Asta knows it. Surrounded by strangers and smelling so sweet and alluring, it would be all too easy to give into the wolf’s impulse to protect him.

Magna rubs his back in slow, soothing circles. Unlike most betas, Magna has a very sharp and noticeable scent. Fire and woodsmoke, but it brings Asta some comfort just the same because it smells like  _ home _ and  _ pack. _ Magna is his big brother and has been looking out for him since he was a pup, even though nobody ever asked him to do such a thing.

“Well, you didn’t run into him before now on accident. You probably aren’t going to,” Magna reasons, and Asta knows he’s right. He should probably have seen the boy by now.

Is he an introvert? A hermit? Maybe he lives a town or two over, and their shop just happened to be the closest available shop to drop the car off at. All of that makes sense in a way, and Asta breathes a sigh of tentative relief as he sits back on his knees. His wolf paces worried circles deep within his soul, whining softly at the fact their mate had been right in front of them yet again, and there was nothing Asta could do about it.

Imprints are rare, and wolves mate for life. Asta never had to fear his parents might split up one day, because no wolf ever picks a partner they would not die to protect. But destiny had stretched out her hand to choose someone for him, a mate just for him.

A boy too young for Asta to seriously pursue and too human to ever understand him.

“Did you see the book he was reading?” Asta drags a hand down his face, wiping away the sweat as best he can. The garage is cool, but the strain of holding back is heavy on him.

“No, I don’t really, uh, make it a habit to spy on our customers.” Magna’s tone is teasing and light, but Asta scowls at him for it just the same as he takes slow, deep breaths through his mouth. Scenting breaths. The shop has its own comforting scent, too.

Asta noticed. He noticed right away, because how could he not? “He was reading a book about wolves. Non-fiction, too. He’s learning about us. Fuck, Magna, this is so messed up.”

“Maybe you should have scared him so he wouldn’t be so curious?” The suggestion is a helpful one, or it’s meant to be, but the thought of frightening that boy is  _ painful. _ “I heard the kid who came in say his name, uh… Did you want to know that, or—”

“I shouldn’t, but I do. It’s just gonna be harder to stop thinking about him, but… Yeah, I want to know.” Asta looks up at Magna, watching the concern play through his eyes.

Magna pats him on the shoulder again, then straightens up. “His name is Yuno.”

_ Yuno. _ Asta’s wolf howls softly in his chest, and he presses a hand over it. Over his heart, which beats just a little faster now that he knows the name of the boy meant to be his.

“I’m not saying you should do anything about that information and you know Dad would kill me if I told you  _ anything _ other than to stay away and be careful, but…” Magna clears his throat, and Asta blinks up at him, waiting for him to finish. Yeah, Dad probably would kill him, because Dad told Asta to be very, very careful about this imprint. “It might be worth looking into him a little. Yeah, he’s human, but that doesn’t  _ mean _ anything, right?”

“Maybe not. Maybe if there’s nothing suspicious, it could be okay.” Asta sighs, then pushes himself to his feet and gives himself a little shake. Get it together. He’s at work. “Thanks.”

Magna scoffs and ruffles his hair, and Asta growls lightly at him. “Don’t mention it, runt. Now get to working on this car so they can come get it on Monday. If you’re lucky, the guy comes alone and you don’t have to see the kid again. But you might not be.”

Right. Get it together in case he has to see him again in just a few days.

Work is easy to focus on, though Asta’s wolf is restless enough that he knows he needs to go for a nice, long run this weekend to work out the nerves. It’s hard not to remember Yuno mentioning he might go for a walk this weekend, out in the woods and in the rain again, and if they happened to run across one another, by some chance—

Unlikely. Asta never goes out that far on his own, and he was chasing the twins down to bring them back when he saw Yuno for the first time. But now that he knows where he is…

Now that he knows where Yuno lives, and that Yuno is interested in wolves, and that Yuno will be out and about outside this weekend, Asta has a choice to make. He can either stay away from the human boy entirely and learn to live with the dull ache in his chest for the rest of his life, or he can take a chance just to see if he might have found  _ one _ good human.

The risk is huge. Most humans are afraid of werewolves. There is folklore about them going back hundreds of years in most countries, and most people tend to paint them as huge, hulking monsters. Which yes, they do have a form like that, an amalgamation of man and wolf that sets them apart from normal wolves, but they aren’t necessarily violent.

Hard to explain to frightened humans, but maybe Yuno would be able to understand.

He and Magna close up shop at five like they always do, locking it up tight to ensure none of the cars dropped off with them over the weekend will be touched. Security systems in place, too, but a good set of locks will deter most thieves right away.

“You know,” Magna says, twisting the key in the office door so the deadbolt  _ clicks _ into place, “Sister Theresa was a human, too. She still helped Gauche get custody of Marie.”

“There are  _ some _ good humans. It’s just risky to find out which ones are good.” Asta remembers her, too. Sister Theresa was a hell of a woman, someone he still thinks of fondly. Someone who knew what they were at a glance and never hated them for it.

Magna looks at him again, glasses sliding down his nose enough for Asta to see his eyes. He looks serious. “Destiny can be a pretty cruel bitch. We all know that. But I don’t believe for a second you’d imprint on a human that was meant to hate you or try to kill you.”

Asta shudders.  _ Try to kill you. _ He never even stopped to think that Yuno might be a hunter, or might descend from a line of them and be working his way into the ranks. Most of the time, hunters never really start properly running with their families until they reach adulthood, but there are fewer and fewer of them. Maybe Yuno’s family is taking the risk.

Or maybe Yuno is just an average boy who saw some wolves in the forest and got curious.

“He really doesn’t strike me as a hunter. I mean, he pet Haru and Sora. They said he was nice to them.”  _ And that he smelled sad. _ But Asta keeps that detail to himself, because if his mate is sad, and maybe he can at least do something about that.

What would such a beautiful young boy have to be sad about that would color his scent?

“And he probably would have recognized them as werewolves right away. Hunters are trained to see the differences between real wolves and us.” Magna tips his head toward their cars. Right. Time to go home, and they must be drawing attention to themselves just standing around like this. “Not saying you should walk into this blind. I gave you his name so you could do whatever you wanted with the information. But maybe you  _ can _ walk into it.”

Armed with some knowledge about who Yuno is, and whether or not he might be a danger to Asta and his pack. If not, it might be worth the risk to meet him in the woods again.

“Thanks, Magna.” Asta heads for his car, intending on going straight home while he knows Magna is going to go pick up Luck from work first like always. “See you back at home.”

_ Yuno. _ Asta murmurs the name to himself a few times as he starts up his car and backs out of the shop’s parking lot, heading toward home. Such a simple name for such a gorgeous boy, and one who was interested in wolves! Who wanted to learn more about them! Asta’s heart races a little at the thought, because it means that their meeting in the woods must have been positive for Yuno. Not frightening. Thank God, Asta thought he’d scared him.

He shakes his head. Maybe a little detective work after he settles in at home. Nothing  _ creepy _ but he does need to figure out if Yuno has any attachment to any groups of hunters, and if he doesn’t… Asta will go from there. Maybe visit him this weekend.

Dad will probably skin him alive for the risk, but Asta won’t be as reckless as he was last time. This time, he can know going in that Yuno is not a threat to him or his family.

Before Asta reaches the front porch, the storm door swings open. Haru and Sora are squeezed together on the doorstep, this time in human form, and he can tell Finesse has had a go at their hair today. It’s all tied and pinned back with ribbons and bows and Asta has to bite back the urge to coo and purr over how cute they are.

“Asta’s home!” Sora holds his hands out and Asta scoops him up easily, nuzzling into his little brother’s hair before kissing him on the forehead. “We missed you today.”

“I missed you both, too.” He shifts Sora to one arm, leaning down to scoop Haru up when the other pup starts whimpering and reaching for him. Attention hogs, the both of them. “What have you been up to today? I see Finesse made your hair look pretty.”

Haru wrinkles his nose, tucking his face in against the side of Asta’s neck. “I don’t  _ like _ it,” he whines, hands grasping at Asta’s shirt. “It feels funny. Asta, take them out!”

“I think they’re pretty,” Sora says, sniffing around Asta’s face like he always does.

“It’s all right, sweetheart, I’ll take the ribbons out of your hair.” Asta is pretty sure that Haru would have been all over it when Finesse sat down to do it, but he’s fussier than his brother is and probably got sick of it minutes later. “Where’s everyone else, huh?”

He has to depend on Sora to pull the storm door shut for him, then kicks the big door shut with a boot before leaving them on the mat. Putting down either twin just isn’t an option when they both want his attention, and Asta is too weak to deal with whining, crying puppies for very long. He gives in so fast that Zora’s teased him before that his own pups will be spoiled rotten one day, too whiny and needy for their own good.

His pups… Can he ever hope to have pups of his own, when Yuno isn’t a wolf like him?

“Mom and Dad went on a run before it started raining again.” Morgen is sitting on the couch, a different book in hand, but he makes room for Asta to sit with the twins on his lap. “Finesse and Finral are upstairs taking a nap. Vanessa took their twins with her.”

“She and Gauche out again for the day?” Asta asks, carefully balancing the twins on his lap so he can slip a hand up into Haru’s hair to free it from all the ornaments.

Morgen nods, pressing his feet against Asta’s thigh. They’re  _ cold, _ but Asta lets him warm them there because he really does spoil all of his siblings. “Yeah. Marie wanted to go see a movie, and they just all went to go see it together. But I didn’t want to go see it.”

“You never liked movies for little kids.” Asta nuzzles Haru’s face to keep him from whining again, kissing his little brother’s forehead, his cheek, his nose, until Haru giggles and yips up at him happily. Omega pups are easy to comfort for a grown alpha.

Asta thinks he’s lucky that all three of his little brothers are omegas. It meant he could take care of them more easily, and Mom always let him help when he asked to.

“They’re boring.” Morgen digs his toes into Asta’s thigh, then tries to just shove his feet underneath it. “So I said I’d watch the twins because they didn’t want to go either. All they’ve done is wait for you to come back from work when I told them what time it was.”

“Good pups don’t cause trouble, do they?” Asta asks, and Sora barks up at him, wiggling around in his lap to find a more comfortable position. “Hold still so I don’t pull your brother’s hair, all right? You wouldn’t want Haru to get hurt.”

Sora nods, immediately stilling before slowly leaning forward to bump his nose against his brother’s. The two erupt into giggles and Asta feels warm and happy all the way through.

He finishes pulling the ribbons out of Haru’s hair and lets the twins curl up on his lap, seemingly happy just to be close to him and probably just… Doing their best to take care of him. They were worried about him when they saw him crying, just like any children would be, and came immediately back to him the minute Morgen was done washing them off. Small little wolf pups crawling into Asta’s lap, whining and licking his face, pawing at him gently.

Asta loves them both so much. He’d die to keep his little brothers safe and sound.

While the two of them snuggle into him and each other, he frees his phone from his pocket and starts social media hunting. The sooner he finds out if Yuno is a hunter or not, the better. Because if Yuno is just a human boy who happens to now have a fondness for wolves, there’s no reason Asta can’t go visit him a second time.

And now that he’s home, away from the ache of the imprint, surrounded by his three little brothers all quiet and content, he can admit it to himself.

He is  _ going _ to want to see Yuno again, and almost nothing can stop him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i want to say thank you all for the support! i'm glad so many people are enjoying this fic.


	7. Chapter 7

Dinners with the Niaflems are complicated at best and upsetting at worst.

By Saturday afternoon, when Yuno finally climbs out of bed to take a shower and do something with the rest of his day, the sting of the night before has mostly faded. He can’t hold it against them for trying to take care of him and giving him a home away from home if ever he needs one, but he wishes he could avoid eating with them more often. That alone is hard work, because Mrs. Niaflem is so determined to help take care of him.

He probably needs someone to take care of him, truth be told. No matter how mature he might act around his peers, Yuno still wishes he did not live most of his days alone.

Showered, hair brushed, dressed in something warm, Yuno takes his book about wolves and his phone out into the woods with him. He wants to find a quiet place to sit and read, and maybe being outdoors will soothe some of the restless energy deep in his soul.

Sometimes he just wants to shout that he isn’t a charity case and he doesn’t  _ need _ to be looked after, but even he knows how hurtful all of that would end up coming out.

Of course, he changes into his boots, tosses his jacket over top of his clothes, and picks up his umbrella on the way out the door. It’s supposed to rain around one and continue for most of the day, but he might be able to find somewhere to sit so he can stay dry.

The obvious is also true. He wants to see the wolves again, even if that is dangerous.

His phone buzzes as he walks down the familiar trail, umbrella under his arm even though the sky is gunmetal grey and the air is damp. Sighing, he tucks his book up under his arm as well and retrieves his phone. A message from Ralph, who still treats Yuno like his little brother even though the two of them rarely see each other with Ralph off at college.

_ You busy? Wanna catch a movie? _ The message is simple and Yuno chews on his bottom lip. Maybe it would be better to do something like that, and a movie would get his mind off of things. But he might also have to fight off going back to the Niaflems for dinner again.

He loves them. He does. But he  _ really _ just wants some space away from them now.

_ Maybe tomorrow, _ he texts back.  _ I have to finish my report before anything else. _

Not even true anymore. Yuno finished it last night after he came back from dinner, saving it and printing it off in his father’s office. A couple of copies, just in case he loses one, or one is damaged over the weekend. He likes to play it safe if he can.

_ You sure? _ The reply is almost instantaneous, and Yuno blows a breath through his bangs.

_ I’m sure. Thanks for asking, though! _ And then he puts his phone on silent and pockets it again, because no one else will be bothering him on the weekends anyway.

He knows where he met the wolves last time and ventures further into the woods, where the trees are pressed more tightly together and he needs to be more careful of where he steps. The sky rumbles softly in warning and Yuno pays it just enough attention, knowing a few light spatters of rain will hardly hurt him. Find somewhere to sit first, and maybe wait to see if one of the wolves will come out into the open. One of the pups, or the silver wolf.

_ This is stupid, _ he thinks.  _ You’ve never seen them before then and you don’t know where their territory is, and they’re wild animals. You’re probably just going to get bitten. _

Maybe, but… Yuno hasn’t felt so strongly about something in a long time. Sue him.

In the thicket of trees he finds a clearing, and he picks a spot at the base of the largest tree with the most coverage before he opens his umbrella and sits down. This is entirely normal, surely. People walk into the woods to sit and be one with nature all the time, and nothing is weird about wanting some peace and quiet in his very hectic life.

As if. Yuno’s life is only hectic when he lets it get that way. He’d at least rather be out here in the fresh air where he might see a wolf than cooped up in his house again.

He reads fifteen pages of his book when the rain starts softly tapping against the top of his umbrella. The coverage from the tree is good enough to justify staying, and Yuno listens closely to the forest around him as he reads. Bird song, the chittering of small animals. Once he glances up when he hears something rustle to see a pair of squirrels come barreling out of the underbrush, chasing each other around and up a tree.

Yuno smiles. It’s  _ cute, _ and he’s never seen anything like that before in real life.

A sharp  _ snap _ makes him jump. He almost drops his book. Carefully marking his place, he peers out from under his umbrella, not wanting to make any sudden movements in case there’s another large animal nearby that might not be so happy to see him in the woods.

What he sees instead, at the very edge of the clearing, half-hidden by trees, is a wolf.

_ Oh. _ His heart speeds up just a little when the creature dips its head, peering at him with large golden eyes. He can just make out the grey of its pelt and wonders if this is the same wolf from before, or a different one. Probably a different one. Grey wolves are common enough, and the one from before would have wanted to avoid seeing him a second time.

He’s done a lot of reading about wolves recently. He knows a thing or two about them now.

“Hello,” he murmurs, and he watches the wolf cock its head just slightly, ear twitching as it watches him. “You don’t have to hide if you don’t want to. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Unlikely that it would understand any of those words, but he hopes the gentle cadence of his tone is enough to keep it relaxed and unafraid of him. He won’t get to touch it like he did the pups, because a grown wolf will surely be more concerned about the possible danger of a human, but he’d at least like to see it more clearly than he can.

The wolf steps fully into the clearing, and Yuno  _ knows _ there would be no way to be certain this is the same wolf from before. He knows this logically, and yet some part of him insists that  _ yes, _ this is the same grey wolf who came to collect the pups the first time.

“Hi,” he murmurs again, hugging his book to his chest as he straightens up a little.

What had surprised him the first time he saw the wolf surprises him now, again. Wolves are larger than Yuno expected them to be, but this one seems even bigger than the size comparisons he saw in the two books he’s been reading. It makes sense that there might be an overly large wolf just like some people are unusually tall, but still.  _ Still. _

Distantly, he wonders if the wolf came out here looking for him like he did for it.

“It’s okay,” he murmurs, holding out his hand, fingers curled inward. “You can come here.”

He’s more likely to scare it off than convince it to come any closer to him. Wolves are naturally wary of humans. The way the pups acted  _ was _ strange; he’s spent the last half-week learning just that. The larger wolf made more sense, because it was wary of him and didn’t come up to him. Just came to get the pups and smelled him a bit, but… It had been walking closer to him, hadn’t it? Was it going to attack him then?

Is it going to attack him now, assuming this is the same wolf?

Yuno holds his breath when the wolf steps closer to him, and this close, Yuno can see that it’s a male wolf. He’s huge and shaggy and his eyes are so bright and clear and beautiful, and Yuno could laugh about their eyes being almost the same color. But he doesn’t. He stays as still as he can, watching the huge paws make their way toward him, head dipped down just a little, eyes watching him… But not wary. No, the wolf isn’t wary of him at all.

He gets the odd sense that the wolf is trying not to scare  _ him _ than the other way around.

“It’s okay.” Yuno makes a soft kissing noise and the wolf huffs, giving his head a toss before walking the rest of the way to Yuno’s extended hand. His nose is cold and wet when it touches Yuno’s knuckles, exhaling hot air against his skin that makes Yuno shiver.

Not until the wolf noses under his hand does Yuno dare to reach out and touch it.

The fur under his hand is coarse like the first book said it would be, but not as greasy as he expects. Maybe the rain has something to do with that, though Yuno has no idea. He strokes the wolf’s head, the dark streak up his nose and between his eyes. And the wolf responds by closing his eyes, pressing up into Yuno’s hands like some needy dogs do.

It’s so  _ cute _ that an idiot would stop thinking of a predator and think of a normal dog.

“Did you come looking for me?” Yuno sets his book on his lap so he can free up both hands, balancing his umbrella on his shoulder as he sinks both hands into the wolf’s coat, rubbing along the broad shoulders. “I probably shouldn’t have, but I came looking for you.”

Another soft huff, this one closer to his face. Yuno smiles despite himself, jumping a little when the wolf takes another step closer to him, sniffing just inches away from his face.

_ It’s fine, _ he tells himself, giggling a little when the wolf’s nose brushes against his own.  _ He’s just curious. He’s not even displaying any aggressive behavior right now. _

That was something Yuno read up on a lot. What aggressive behavior looked like for a wolf, just in case he saw another one and wanted to interact with it like a fool. And he must have done a good job, or this wolf just happens to trust him because he hadn’t hurt the pups, because he never  _ dreamed _ he would get to pet the much larger wolf.

A rough tongue licks at his cheek and Yuno giggles despite himself. It tickles and he squirms in place a little when the wolf licks his face again. He’s a friendly thing.

“Are you happy to see me again?” he asks, rubbing along the wolf’s neck and shoulders, where the thickest fur grows. He can sink his hands entirely inside, and there’s still the undercoat underneath, dense and soft. “Because I’m happy to see you again.”

He doesn’t expect the soft whine, the wolf nuzzling under his chin near his throat, the huge tail wagging a little before the wolf just  _ sits down _ in front of him. The massive head comes to rest on his lap, and Yuno drags the book out from under it and tucks it under his coat. Library book, so he has to return it, preferably not covered in wolf hair.

Huge gold eyes peer up at him with such a pitiful expression that Yuno can’t help but smile, setting his hands in the dense fur again. “You just came to get petted, didn’t you?”

Not that Yuno minds. The wolf is so beautiful, how could he ever mind?

Just sitting here petting a huge wolf has its perks, of course. The wolf seems content to rest in Yuno’s lap, huge body stretched out on the grass, golden eyes fluttering shut the longer Yuno pets him. His fur is mostly silver and white with some dark grey and black streaks, but he’s got easily one of the lightest colored coats Yuno has ever seen on anything but a white wolf. And he’s beautiful. All wolves are beautiful, at least every wolf Yuno has ever seen in pictures or in real life has been, but this one is  _ gorgeous. _

Maybe he’s biased, because this wolf licked his face and is letting Yuno pet him.

“I came looking for you, too, you know,” he says, and the wolf glances up at him again.

Talking to himself is just something he does now, and this is at least less weird than that is. The wolf might not be able to understand him, but he certainly does perk up slightly at the sound of Yuno’s voice. Maybe he just likes the sound of human speech.

“Everyone would tell me it’s probably not safe, but I still came out here looking for you. Or the puppies, or all of you, I didn’t know who I’d find.” Yuno traces his fingers along one large ear and the wolf flicks it slightly. “Granted, I didn’t think you’d flop down in my lap and ask for attention like this. I was just thinking I might see you again.”

The wolf tilts his head and licks Yuno’s wrist, tail picking up off the grass to wag slightly.

Maybe he should think about getting a dog. He spends most of his time at home, so he’d be able to take care of one with no problem, but… Yuno scoffs at himself. What he’d  _ really _ like is to just bring this huge wolf home and take care of him, but he knows better.

“I’ve never seen any of you on my walks before. Maybe you just moved here, or something? Migrated nearby. I hope so. I’d like to see you again.” But even if he doesn’t, he at least got this moment, one that thousands of people wish they could and never will.

The wolf licks his hand again, nuzzling into his palm, and Yuno smiles before stroking the thick, heavy fur again. Maybe he can get a wolfdog, but the Niaflems would probably have a heart attack if he said that was what he wanted. Even domesticated dogs bred with wolves don’t necessarily yield safe puppies, and that instinct and wild blood runs deep.

When his hands are tired, he wraps his arms around the wolf, watching those golden eyes open once more to look up at him. “I hope you come out here more, so I can see you again. It would probably be a really stupid idea to feed you since you might follow me home, but… I might bring something out anyway. I wasn’t supposed to pet you in the first place.”

A soft  _ woof, _ the wolf lifting his huge head to lick Yuno on the cheek. Maybe he does understand, to an extent. Maybe something in Yuno’s tone is letting him pick up on words.

“Who isn’t going to pet a wolf if they get a chance? And you don’t seem so scary.” He dares to lean down closer to the wolf, and is rewarded with another lick to the face which has him laughing softly again, wiping the spit away. “At least you aren’t licking my mouth.”

Which is apparently a thing that wolves do to say  _ hello. _

The sky crackles overhead with lightning and rumbles with thunder. Yuno jolts; the wolf only looking up at the sky placidly before peeking at Yuno again. Unbothered, but of course. An animal used to living outside is probably used to the weather conditions, too. But Yuno isn’t one, and he should probably go back home before it ends up getting worse out here.

He doesn’t want to go. He doesn’t want to leave the wolf here and go back to his dark, empty house. But he knows he should. Lightning and trees don’t mix well.

“All right,” he murmurs, grasping the umbrella with one hand again, pulling his book out of his jacket so it doesn’t hit the ground when he stands. “It’s been fun, but I have to go home. Maybe we’ll run into each other again. You should probably get somewhere safe.”

The wolf slowly picks his head up out of Yuno’s lap and rises to his feet, shaking off the bits of leaves and dirt that cling to his coat. Even once Yuno stands up, the wolf just seems far, far larger than he ever imagined a wolf could be, and he feels immense gratitude that he wasn’t hurt petting him like that. He easily could have been. This is a predator.

A predator who promptly tips his ears back and  _ whines _ when Yuno starts to turn away.

“What? What’s wrong?” Yuno glances back at him, watching as the wolf takes another couple of steps closer to him. “No, you should go now. I have to go back home. We’ll see each other again soon, all right? Maybe even tomorrow afternoon if it doesn’t storm.”

The wolf whines at him again and walks closer, butting his head lightly against Yuno’s side and looking up at him with eyes that somehow look as sad as a puppy’s can.

Wolves are dogs, but this isn’t a puppy, and Yuno is  _ trying _ to behave here.

“I can’t take you back,” he says, but when he starts walking back toward the direction his house is in, the wolf falls into step beside him, woofing softly when Yuno scowls at him. “Look, I… All right. Just this once. But you  _ have _ to let me wash you off first.”

There are surely worse ways to spend an afternoon than trying to give a huge wolf a bath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [carrd](https://zogratiscest.carrd.co/#) || [twitter](https://twitter.com/zogratiscest)
> 
> had this written almost immediately after the last chapter but i wanted to stagger it


	8. Chapter 8

In the end, Asta’s search turns up nothing concerning to a pack of wolves.

He spends a few minutes just idly searching for a social media account under the name  _ Yuno _ in the general area, and it still takes him time to find any profile. Yuno has accounts that he barely uses, which Asta supposes is fair. He rarely uses social media and only maintains the profiles in case there are names or people to keep track of. Hunters can show up anywhere at any time, and they tend to present themselves as normal people.

It takes a trained eye to figure out which ones are just kind, well-meaning people and which ones are humans that have been prepped and primed to kill his kind.

What he  _ does _ find in this search is more concerning. Yuno Grinberryall might not keep up that much social media presence, but there are newspaper articles about his parents. Loyce and Ciel Grinberryall who passed away in a car accident on a dark, rainy night, leaving their only son behind. Does Yuno live with the family friend who Asta met, as well?

Only one real way to find out. If Yuno is safe, then Asta can see him a second time.

And a smarter wolf would have accepted the brief amount of time they could spend together as  _ something _ valuable and gone back home after the fact. A smarter wolf may never have come out here at all; Dad is definitely going to skin him for this risk. But when Yuno says they have to part for the day, Asta… Cries like a  _ pup _ all over again.

Like he isn’t a grown wolf capable of forcing himself to wait to see Yuno again.

“Stay here,” Yuno tells him when they reach the back porch of a  _ massive _ house, and Asta’s tail wags automatically at the sound of Yuno’s voice. So soft and understated, like he has to strain his ears to pick it up. “Your feet are muddy. Wait  _ right _ here, okay?”

Yuno sets a hand down gently on his scruff as if to tell Asta to  _ stay, _ and he can’t help a soft  _ woof _ in answer, tail wagging like crazy. Letting Yuno pet him is either the best or worst thing he ever did, because Yuno touching him feels so amazing.

The back door opens, and Asta sniffs at the air while Yuno disappears into the dark, quiet house. There are no other distinct human smells other than Yuno’s own, and the complete lack of all noise leads Asta to believe the house is empty. Does Yuno live here alone? He shouldn’t. He should live with someone who can take care of him, because even a teen boy needs to be taken care of. To be held when the nights are dark and long and lonely.

Asta can take care of him like that. Asta can do  _ anything _ that Yuno needs. He knows it.

When Yuno returns, he has a towel in hand and his jacket and umbrella are gone. “Your feet are muddy. You’re dirty in general but I have to wipe your feet off, okay?”

He holds the towel out and Asta dutifully offers a paw, letting Yuno wipe off his feet as much as he needs to while he waits to be welcomed into the house.  _ Yuno’s home. _ The thought makes Asta’s heart swell and his tail wag harder. He has to be on his best behavior because he wants nothing more than to find somewhere soft and warm, to tuck Yuno in and take care of him. Keep him warm and safe, and let him know he isn’t alone anymore.

Yuno never has to be alone, if he doesn’t want to be. Asta will see to that.

Once his feet are suitably clean, Asta is allowed to step into the house. Dark and tidy but it really only smells like Yuno, and the fainter smells under that are perhaps those family friends or the scents of the parents who passed away. Scent takes a long time to fade from a proper home, after all. What it does mean is that Yuno truly does live here alone, and Asta has to bite back the urge to whine when he realizes that.

“Come on.” Yuno makes kissy noises at him and gives his scruff a gentle tug, and Asta falls into step behind him, trotting through the kitchen and down a hall to a lit room. A bathroom, as it turns out. “God, I’ve never even given a dog a bath before.”

_ I’ll behave. No shaking. _ Asta licks the hand closest to him and Yuno laughs, scrunching up his nose a little. So pretty that Asta just wants to hold him and kiss him and  _ love _ him.

Well, he already loves Yuno. Maybe he’s stupid and jumping into all of this too fast, but Asta hardly cares. An imprint means that Yuno is the one, the only one, and the sheer joy Asta experiences being next to him makes it abundantly clear Asta already loves him.

He steps into the tub when Yuno’s back is turned, when Yuno is searching under the sink for something. The soft tap of his toenails on the porcelain has Yuno turning around to look at him, and the surprise in his golden eyes makes Asta pause. Best behavior, yes, but Yuno might suspect something is up if Asta is  _ too _ good. Or maybe he won’t. If he’s just been researching wolves recently, maybe he can just chalk this up to Asta exploring.

So Asta dutifully sniffs around the tub and the tap, and Yuno seems to relax a little.

“Sorry, no really cool or unique smells in here. I don’t really use this bathroom that much.” Yuno comes back to the tub with a bottle in hand. Average human shampoo, but it won’t matter so much with Asta’s fur. It doesn’t have  _ quite _ the same texture of a normal wolf’s, because werewolves are so different and rarely spend that much time in wolf form.

Spending too much time in wolf forms means you might get stuck that way.

“You’re going to be good, right? Nah, you’re definitely going to shake. Hold on.” Yuno reaches for the shower curtain, tucking it into the tub. “Should have worn something I didn’t mind getting dirty, but I kind of like this shirt. You won’t tell, right?”

_ Won’t tell? _ Asta looks up at him in silent question, ears cocked, and watches as Yuno tugs the shirt up and over his head to leave on the sink counter. Oh.  _ Oh. _ Asta tries not to let the surprise show, because some emotions  _ definitely _ come through the wolf features a little too easily for his taste. Sometimes a hunter can pick a werewolf apart from a normal wolf with something as simple as watching just how expressive they happen to be.

Asta thought originally he might not be able to have pups with Yuno. Male omegas have the necessary anatomy to be bred and to whelp, which has made for some… Interesting stories over the years when Finral was pregnant the first time, or the two times Mom was pregnant. The story to humans is simple enough, because while some of them might turn up their noses at the concept, telling them that a pregnant man is transgender is enough.

Keeping them cooped up in the house was an option, but it was also barbaric and ultimately none of them wanted to force that on any member of the pack. A different lie was easier for humans to swallow down, even if the pill was particularly bitter for them.

But Yuno… Is actually trans. His breasts are small but visible without the shirt on, small enough that most humans might not notice if he wears a couple layers of clothing.

Of course, Asta is an idiot. The first thing he wants to do is touch.

_ No, _ he snaps at himself.  _ No transforming. I can’t risk him finding out when I’d end up naked in his fucking bath tub. _ And he hasn’t figured out how to explain it to Yuno yet, to tell him what Asta is, what his family are. The time has to be right for him to do that.

“There. Can’t ruin my shirt now.” Yuno steps into the bathtub with him, still in his pants, but barefoot. Maybe the pants aren’t important to him. Well, they are just pants. “Now be good and don’t shake that much, okay? Or you’re going to make a mess.”

_ Never, _ Asta promises him, woofing softly just to watch the way Yuno smiles down at him.

Destiny is a little less cruel than Asta thought she was, if she’d given him a mate who can properly whelp for him. They just need to talk about if Yuno  _ wants _ to do that, now.

The hot water feels nice and Yuno has a surprising amount of patience. He spends a lot of time sinking his hands into Asta’s thick fur, easily going through the large bottle of shampoo as he works on getting all the dirt and leaves and other forest debris out of Asta’s coat. It takes a lot of effort because Asta has a lot of fur, and he knows that. All wolves do, especially when the weather is on its way to getting colder.

His fur isn’t as greasy as a normal wolf’s, though. He and his pack might groom each other when they run as wolves, but they spend their time in human skin for a reason.

That being said, the urge to shake is so powerful that Asta barely catches himself half a dozen times. But he promised he wouldn’t do that, at least to himself, so he holds himself still even as his entire body demands him to shake off the excess water.

“You’re  _ such _ a good boy,” Yuno croons, and Asta pants softly as he glances back at him. The shower is warm and nice, but Asta has a lot of fur. “I didn’t think it’d be this easy.”

Hopefully he doesn’t try this with any other wolves. Probably Asta needs to tell him the truth sooner rather than later so he knows Asta is more than just a wolf, but he wants to enjoy this time with his soulmate first. Just in case Yuno has an average human reaction, rejects him entirely for being a monster, and wants nothing at all to do with him.

_ Please don’t, _ he thinks immediately.  _ Please understand how much I love you, Yuno. _

“Don’t shake,” Yuno says sternly, handheld showerhead in hand as he works the soap out of Asta’s fur. “I mean, I know the shower curtain is closed, but  _ do not _ shake.”

He wants to. So bad. But he makes himself hold still because Yuno told him not to.

“I’ve never had a pet before. Mother… She always loved animals, but we moved around a few times before settling down here, so we ended up never adopting anything.” Yuno scrubs intently at his fur and Asta’s eyes flutter half-shut in pleasure. It feels so nice. “But you aren’t a pet. You’re a wild animal. I shouldn’t even be doing something this stupid.”

_ Shouldn’t be, but it feels nice. _ Asta wants to turn around and lick his face to reassure him, but the space is kind of tight and he might knock Yuno over in the process. Worse than shaking and getting water all over everything. The goal is to never,  _ ever _ hurt his mate.

The water shuts off, and Yuno points a finger at his face, his expression stern. “I’m going to open this curtain and get you some towels. Do  _ not _ shake in the meantime.”

Asta licks his hand and watches that expression dissolve into a smile and a giggle, and his heart thuds with so much fondness that it threatens to overwhelm him.  _ For you? Never. _

It takes all of his self-control not to shake the water out of his fur, but Yuno makes good on his word and comes back with towels to help dry Asta off. Just like washing him, it takes a long time to get enough water out of his fur that he isn’t dripping all over the floor again, but Yuno is patient and determined. His expression slips into something so serious that Asta can’t help but curl around to lick at his face, nuzzle against his neck. Just to watch him smile and hear him laugh, because that is a truly beautiful sound.

He wants to listen to the music of it for the rest of his life. Just this one song.

“Thank you for being such a good boy.” Yuno tosses the towels in a laundry basket on the other side of the room, and Asta woofs at him, wagging his tail ridiculously fast. He is welcome. He is  _ so _ welcome, he doesn’t even know it. “Come on. Let’s go relax for a bit.”

_ Relax? Definitely. _ Asta wants to find somewhere comfortable to lay down so Yuno can lean against his side. Teach him how it feels to be cared for and loved by a wolf, because he deserves to know he doesn’t have to stay here in this big empty house alone. Bringing him home to the pack is probably the best thing Asta can do for him, but it’s too early.

Soon, though. Yuno can’t just live here all by himself. It isn’t fair to leave him like this.

The living room is huge, but Yuno seems dissatisfied with it. He pushes the coffee table against the far wall to open up the huge rug spread across the hardwood, making a discontent sound as he studies it. Like he’s missing something but isn’t sure what it is. Asta sits down on his haunches and watches Yuno, wondering what he’s doing, what he’s thinking of. Studying his face, his body, wondering how soft his skin is, how sweet his lips taste.

If Asta had his way, he’d be kissing Yuno right now. Pulling him down to the floor with him, kissing him, touching him, teaching him how beautiful and perfect he is. He’s young, but that’s fine. Inexperience is easy to remedy with practice. It is  _ so _ easy to remedy.

“Stay here,” Yuno murmurs, and disappears not down the hall but up the stairs, the soft footfalls of his steps echoing in the too-quiet of the huge, dark house.

Asta watches him go, then stands and starts sniffing around the living room just to get a read on the rest of the house. The scents really are abnormally faint. Even a visitor would have left a heavier scent; Yuno must not have visitors often. Does he isolate himself on purpose? Perhaps. Some humans do, though Asta can hardly imagine doing that.

Lone wolves rarely survive that long on their own. Pack is natural for them. That might be why being alone seems so foreign to Asta, but surely Yuno does not  _ want _ to be alone.

Maybe he just ended up along when his parents passed away. Such things happen.

Satisfied with his small exploration, Asta sits back down and listens intently for the sound of Yuno coming back downstairs to him. His heart abruptly beats faster when he sees Yuno picking his way carefully down the stairs, a couple of pillows under his arms and what looks like a couple of blankets tossed over his shoulders. They’re going to lay down together in a pseudo-nest? He really was meant to be Asta’s mate after all.

_ Already the perfect mate and you don’t even know it. _ Asta barks a hello and Yuno’s eyes crinkle for him again. So beautiful it makes his tail wag faster.

“I don’t think you can fit up on the couch comfortably, and the rug’s not comfortable, but…” Yuno lays the blankets down on the floor, then the pillows on top of it. Enough, because the house is so warm. Anything else might smother them. “There we go.”

_ So good. _ Asta pads up to him and licks his face a few times, then tucks his head on top of Yuno’s shoulder in the best approximation of an embrace he can manage.  _ You’d be such a good omega. You have no idea how amazing of an omega you’d be. _

“Your fur’s a little softer now,” Yuno murmurs. His hands are gentle as they smooth through Asta’s coat, and Asta can’t help how his entire  _ body _ shakes with the wag of his tail. This is exactly where he was meant to be from day one.

Yuno retrieves his wolf book and stretches out on the floor to read while Asta curls up next to him, letting Yuno have the heat of his body without any of the weight of it. He wants to keep him warm and safe and comfortable, to shield him from a world that has done nothing but hurt him and leave him alone in this big, empty house.

Would he want to join Asta’s pack? Have a family again? All of them would accept and love him. The pups would smother him with love and attention so that he never feels alone again, and if he wants pups himself, Asta can do that for him. Humans aren’t really  _ made _ to take knots as naturally as an omega, but Asta would take his time. Be patient with him.

Get him so achingly wet that Yuno would fall apart under him and around his knot.

When Yuno pushes his book away, Asta picks his head up a little in silent question. Something wrong? Does he need anything? As if Asta could go get it for him. He  _ could, _ but not in this form, and changing right now might scare Yuno to death.

Instead, Yuno rolls onto his side and tucks his face into Asta’s scruff, and Asta lays his head back down in assent. Absolutely feel free to cuddle close. “Gonna just… Rest for a minute, okay? Don’t eat me, though. You have to be good to stay inside.”

Asta licks his hair and Yuno giggles again, cuddling closer against his side, into his fur. Where he should be, where he should have always been. Where Asta will keep him forever if he wants it, safe and loved like the mate of any wolf should be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yuno is trans for the sake of the "breeding" tag, don't think too much about it


	9. Chapter 9

Yuno has been having strange dreams since meeting the wolves in the forest.

Upon waking, he tends to think his imagination is just running away with him. Years’ worth of seeing all sorts of ridiculous supernatural, fantastical romances have simply led his subconscious to crossing some wires to create strange fantasies that eat up the hours he can finally find some rest. He knows how dreams work, fundamentally. How the brain seems to smash everything together and present it in some strange way that never quite makes sense unless you know where to look, or sometimes if the dreams are especially obvious.

A few dreams in a row about crushing the forest floor beneath his feet, trying to keep up with a pack of wolves running under the full moon just makes sense. In his waking hours, Yuno is crushed by loneliness. He has no one and nothing most of the time, and of course that means in his dreams, he basks in being  _ with _ other people. Not alone.

So it makes sense, he knows, to have a dream where Asta and the wolves are present.

It even, in a backwards way, makes sense to have a dream in which Asta  _ is _ one of those wolves. Yuno’s breath is taken away by the sight, the fluid shift from wolf fur to human skin, the golden eyes giving way to vibrant spring green, the muscles of a predator smoothing into the muscles of a particularly strong human being. And because Yuno is alone, and because Asta was attractive and nice to him, it only makes sense to kiss him.

In his incredibly short life, Yuno still hasn’t had his first kiss. Has never dated before, because he worked so hard in school that he rarely saw anything beyond the focal lens of his studies. But here, in the velvet warmth of his dreams, he isn’t alone.

_ “It’s all right now.” _ Asta’s lips are soft against his own, and no other part of him is. Strong arms, heavy muscle, warm enough for Yuno to press into his embrace.  _ “I’m here now.” _

_ “Don’t go.” _ Yuno tucks his face into Asta’s hair, the best he can reach because he’s still so much taller than him. Not that Asta seems to mind.  _ “Don’t you ever leave me.” _

_ “Of course not, Yuno. I came this far to find you. I’m not leaving now.” _ And when Asta kisses him again, it feels like more than a kiss. It feels like a promise.

Yuno wakes slowly. The real world edges back in piece by piece, and he stretches out on the blankets beneath him, another tucked on top of him. He doesn’t remember covering himself but he must have when he decided to take a nap, when the words on the page all blurred together and he pushed aside his book to rest. With his face tucked into the ruff of a wolf and the warmth of the fire crackling softly behind them both, how ideal.

The fire. Shit. Yuno jerks upright, breathing a sigh of relief when he sees the flames have burned to low embers and have not tried to burn the house down. He knows better, usually, than to doze off when he’s the only one in the house. If the fires caught, he might die in his sleep, either consumed by rapidly-spreading flames or choking on the smoke.

Yuno sighs, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he looks around the living room. It takes his brain a few minutes to catch up, to remember what he did before sleeping.

Stupid of him to bring a wild animal into the house. Another miracle he didn’t die in the wolf’s teeth, because keeping a wild predator next to him is how he might very well die. How can he have been so reckless, so uncaring of what might happen to him?

He remembers the way the wolf listened to him, did as he asked, let Yuno wash his thick, heavy fur. A soft smile touches his lips when he remembers the wolf licking his cheek, nuzzling him, the way his tail wagged every time Yuno spoke. Like he was  _ happy _ to be here, but that kind of thinking is dangerous and stupid. Animals like that belong outside.

When Yuno glances over at the wolf, prepared to find him awake and watching, or to wake him from slumber and lead him outside, he freezes. His heart hammers against his ribcage.

_ Am I still asleep? _ He gives his face a few light slaps, swallowing around the sudden tight grip of fear in his throat as he slowly edges away from the blankets on the floor. Logical thought flies out the window at the sight of a stranger lying next to him, facedown in the pillow, breathing slowly and evenly. Asleep, like Yuno had been.

Where did he come from? How did he get into the house? Did he let the wolf outside? Probably did. Maybe the wolf even wanted outside when the man came up to the door and just trotted off into the forest. With no reason to stay and no loyalty to Yuno, there would have been no reason to make noise to alert him. And now there’s a strange man lying on his floor, one that Yuno doesn’t recognize— Wait. Yes, yes he  _ does _ recognize him.

_ I must still be asleep. _ Yuno slaps his face a little harder as he stands, his socked feet making no noise on the rug or the hardwood beneath. Because now, as his brain slowly clicks back on, he realizes that he does recognize this man. Or at least, the messy silver hair.

Asta is here. Asta is sleeping on his floor right where the wolf had been a moment before.

Slowly, Yuno walks out of the living room. He takes deep, even breaths to keep himself from panicking, from shouting or waking Asta because he needs to figure this out. Maybe he should run for it. Throw on his shoes and just bolt outside into the forest, because he surely knows it better than Asta does. He might be able to hide, grab his cell phone and call for help while he runs. At least Yuno knows where Asta works. Maybe they can—

He stops himself in the living room, resting his hands carefully on the kitchen table. Is he still dreaming? Lucid dreams are possible but seem unlikely. What the fuck is Asta doing here? How did he even know where Yuno’s house was, much less how to find it?

The panic seeps from his veins, a sluggish process that leaves Yuno frowning because it just doesn’t make sense not to be afraid. A fucking stranger broke into his house and laid down next to him on the floor. He should be screaming. What the hell is  _ wrong _ with him?

“Breathe,” he murmurs to himself, but breathing comes easier to him now. Like the first rush of adrenaline is already fading. It lets him think clearly but he feels like something about that is wrong, like he should be more afraid. “Call the police. They can handle this.”

He presses his lips together. The last time he talked to the police was that night—

“I’d, uh…” The voice that comes from behind him makes Yuno jump, a helpless little yelp leaving his lips as he presses himself back against the kitchen table. “I’d really like for you not to call the cops. Obviously I can’t stop you from doing that, but I’d rather talk to you about all of this instead of getting them involved. It’s up to you, though, Yuno.”

Asta stands in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen, a blanket gathered around his waist. It takes Yuno a moment to realize Asta must be naked underneath the blanket, and what the fuck? Why would he take his fucking clothes off?

“How did you get here? How did you know where to find me?” Yuno moves quickly to put the kitchen table between them. His cell phone charges on the kitchen counter behind him, and he reaches for it. Call the police, let them come arrest this guy, and move on with his life. “I have a home security system. How the fuck could you have gotten past that?”

Despite the impending call, Asta merely stands in the doorway. A wistful grin touches his lips, and for some reason, Yuno’s stomach twists slightly. “I didn’t. Can we just talk first?”

_ Talk? _ This guy wants to  _ talk _ to him after sneaking in? “Answer my questions, then.”

“Fair. You’re probably confused and I can tell you’re scared. Okay, how did I get here? You let me in, Yuno. You invited me in, for that matter.” Asta tips his head against the frame, and despite the fact he somehow snuck in— Wait, what? “How did I find you? We’ve met before. Not at the auto shop. Before that. I saw you in the woods, didn’t I?”

The woods? Yuno’s dream drifts back to him, and he shakes his head because no such thing could ever be true. “No. You’re not— No.  _ No, _ I’m not going to believe something that dumb. No one would believe that. Are you trying to trick me? It isn’t going to work.”

“You’re smart to think that. I’m glad you didn’t just take my word at face value and believe me. Makes you smart.” Asta walks closer to him, and Yuno leans sharply back into the counter. “Sorry, I just need to sit down. Here, you can watch. You can trust your own eyes, can’t you? You can make what you want of this. But you have to know I’m not lying.”

Asta rests his hand on top of the table, and Yuno watches him carefully as he pulls up the number pad on his phone to dial the police. He gets all three numbers typed in and then waits. If Asta isn’t going to try to tackle him, he might be able to get out the back door before Asta can catch up, and from there Yuno can lose himself in the trees while he calls for help. Service is pretty good even in the woods, and emergency services always picks up.

Then Asta’s forearm  _ ripples _ and Yuno’s phone slips out of his hand, numb with shock.

“It’s not a pretty process to do it gradually like this, but we can’t talk otherwise.” Asta’s forearm ripples again and Yuno watches as hair, as  _ fur _ , sprouts from his skin. Thick and silver and  _ familiar. _ As his fingers elongate, nails lengthening into claws. “I didn’t mean to shift back like this, and I’m so sorry you had to find out this way. You must be scared.”

“What the hell are you?” Yuno already knows, he thinks, watching the way Asta flexes his arm. The hand at the end of it is still a hand, not a paw, but thickly furred and clawed and the familiar padding that paws have. He asks, even though he knows. He needs to hear it.

The smile Asta flashes him is guilty. His eyes lack the brightness and warmth of the auto shop. Everything in his body posture suggests this is not the situation he wants to be in. “I’m a wolf. Or, well, a werewolf in human terms. I was a wolf when we first met. Sorry if my little brothers bothered you, by the way. They’re kind of excitable.”

A wolf. The beautiful silver wolf with the golden eyes. The one who followed him home, who let Yuno wash him, who laid down next to him. “That isn’t possible. Werewolves aren’t real.”

“I’m glad you think that. We kind of don’t want everyone to just know we exist. Doesn’t really work for us in the long-run and makes it hard to hide from people who want us dead.” Asta flexes his arm again, and the fur slowly begins to recede into human flesh once again. “I can’t talk as a wolf, obviously. And my actual in-between form, that you’d call a werwolf, well… I can talk, but it’s harder to understand. So this is the only way we can talk.”

“Werewolves aren’t real,” Yuno says, and Asta smiles sadly at him and shakes his head. There isn’t an explanation for what Asta just did with his arm, because no one can just do that. If they could, Yuno would have known about it. It would be public knowledge.

Instead of arguing with him, Asta sets both hands on the table in clear sight, palms facing upward. “Ask yourself why it was so easy to get a wolf to follow you home, or give him a bath. Didn’t I listen just a  _ little _ too well? You had to be asking yourself why.”

Yuno says nothing. It was stupid of him to just believe everything was perfectly and neatly falling into place like that, and he knows it. Wolves wouldn’t listen like that. Even those who have been partially domesticated, as close as you can domesticate something like a wolf, would never have listened at the very beginning like that. Never. Not making it so easy to bathe. Not even shaking when Yuno said not to, but he hadn’t done that.

Asta tips his head down a little, and Yuno is sharply reminded of the way the big silver wolf looked at him in the forest. The soft whine. “I’ve needed to talk to you for a few days now, since the two of us first met. I didn’t think I’d see you again after that, though.”

“And then, at the auto shop—” What is he saying? The last thing he needs to be doing is feeding into some crazy man’s fantasy of being a werewolf. But his arm. How did he do it?

“That’s right! I saw you there, and you were reading about wolves. It made me want to reach out to you all over again.” Asta perks up noticeably, and the brightness returns to his eyes. His smile is softer now, genuine, and it makes Yuno’s belly flutter just like it did in the shop. How stupid is he? How idiotic? This man broke into his house! “And you told me you’d be out in the woods this weekend, so I started searching for you.”

So it hadn’t been a coincidence that the silver wolf found him again. Yuno went looking for the wolf, and the wolf went looking for him in turn. Not a wolf. A person. No, not that  _ either. _ “So you overheard my name at the shop and stalked me. That doesn’t make you a werewolf. I don’t know what you did with your arm and I don’t care, but you aren’t—”

“It was stupid of me to follow you home. To beg like that. But being with you made me feel more at peace than I have in so long. I never thought I’d meet you.” Asta exhales, and the way his shoulders relax makes Yuno frown. Like some weight has been lifted off of him. “You have to feel it, too. I know you do. There’s a pull between the two of us.”

A pull? Yuno’s frown deepens, but his stomach flutters softly again. The tension and fear he should be feeling still feels distant. Far away, not quite easy for him to grasp.

“But you’ve only really touched me as a wolf, and that’s not the same thing.” Asta stretches out one of his hands, and Yuno recoils. “Do you think I’d risk coming all the way out here to see you again, telling you all of this, for no reason? No one would ever do that.”

“Guys who’d sneak into someone’s house would do all sorts of crazy shit,” Yuno argues, but the urge to reach out and touch is there. What pull? What is Asta talking about?

And why is Yuno standing here listening to him? He should have dialed the police.

Asta smiles softly up at him, and Yuno shivers just a little. “I’ll make you a deal. Touch my hand, just the once. And if you still want to call the police, I’ll do it for you. I’ll turn myself in, and you can get a restraining order and never have to see me again. Deal?”

Just one touch… He could do anything with that. He might twist Yuno’s wrist and pin him down against the table— But he also could have done that this entire time. He could have done a lot of things. Physically stronger than Yuno is, even if Yuno is taller. He wouldn’t be able to fight back even if he wanted to. Asta could easily do anything to him.

So why is there some gut-deep instinct he has that Asta would never do that?

He’s delusional. A boy with a crush who really needs to know better, but… One touch surely couldn’t hurt too much. One touch, and then Asta will even call the police for him. Yuno has no reason to trust him at his word, but some part of him tells him that he  _ can. _

One touch. He takes a deep breath and nods. Just one touch, and this nightmare can end.

Asta stays still while Yuno walks closer to the table, leaning across the wood. Slowly, carefully, hesitating just a moment. Then Yuno sets his hand down in Asta’s waiting one.

The fluttering in his stomach ceases. The warmth that replaces it is slow, uncurling in his veins, around his bones, sinking deep into muscle and leaving him shivering slightly. His mouth parts around a soundless gasp. The pang of loneliness in his soul finally softens somewhat, eases.  _ Not alone, _ his heart seems to say.  _ Not anymore. Not ever again. _

Tears prick his eyes, and Yuno touches his cheek with his free hand. Catches a tear that slowly rolls down his cheek, though he isn’t crying. He doesn’t feel sad at all.

“I’ve been waiting for you all my life.” Asta’s hand curls around his own, slotting their fingers together. Neatly. Like they were made to fit together. “But I’m here now.”

_ Don’t go _ is on the tip of Yuno’s tongue. _ Don’t you ever leave me again. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay asta and yuno have actually gotten somewhere !!


	10. Chapter 10

Yuno’s hand is warm, trembling faint as it settles on top of Asta’s own. Just like seeing him realigned the axis of Asta’s world so that it would rotate only around Yuno, touching him only solidifies the bond between them. Tightens it, like the threads wrapped around and between his ribs are coated in steel. There is no place in the world where Asta could be and not find his way back to Yuno. He would walk to him, swim to him, whatever it takes.

_ This is how the world is meant to be.  _ So simple he should have seen it years ago.

“I don’t understand this.” The two of them are sitting on the couch, Yuno bundled up in one of the blankets from the floor when Asta saw the goosebumps on his arms. “I don’t know what any of this means. You’re going to have to explain so much to me.”

“Do I need to explain werewolves to you?” Asta sits next to him, as close as he can, with Yuno pressed up against his side. Holding his hand again, fingers wound together tight.

Golden eyes narrow, thin lips pressing into a sharp line that makes Asta laugh a little as he ducks his head. “ _ No,  _ you don’t have to explain werewolves to me. I watch movies, Asta. I guess I just… I mean, I don’t know how much any of those movies are true, though.”

“None of them. Maybe there is one out there attached to facts, but if there is, it’s one that I’ve never seen.” Admittedly, Asta has seen a lot. He always finds himself amused at the ways that humans present his kind as monsters, the ways they see them as violent and bestial. They don’t understand anything. “Imprinting is mostly right when it comes up, though. Have you ever seen a movie or read a book that has imprinting in it?”

“No. The first books I ever read about wolves were non-fiction, and I’m not really one for… Horror, which is the usual genre that werewolves show up in.” Now Yuno’s face flushes faintly, and Asta’s heart flutters at the delicate rosy coloring in his pale cheeks.

Starting from zero is fine with Asta. “Imprinting is a soulmate bond. You only imprint on the person you’re meant to love forever. For my kind, that usually means another wolf.”

“Oh. That makes sense, wolves meant to be with wolves. But you… Didn’t do that.” Yuno glances at him again, then down at their hands. The warmth of the bond in such a simple touch is electrifying, settling deep within Asta’s skin. The  _ rightness _ is exhilarating.

Slowly, Asta shakes his head. “Every wolf I’ve ever known that imprinted did so on another wolf. Like my parents, they imprinted when they first met. Instantly, they just looked at each other and they knew. And I knew the first time I looked at you.”

“Just one look?” Yuno furrows his brows when Asta nods. Like he’s considering things.

“That’s all you really need to know. Destiny just kind of waits for you to see your soulmate, and then you know.” Though the knowing is only the very beginning of the battle. Some wolves never want a soulmate to begin with. Some don’t want to try to pursue any kind of bond. Some wolves die alone because of that. “So I looked at you, and I knew.”

Yuno brushes his thumb over Asta’s knuckles. The gesture seems mostly accidental, but it still makes Asta want to croon softly. “Humans don’t have anything like that, so I guess I’m just trying to wrap my head around it. But I… I think I believe you on that, at least.”

“Yeah? Noticed anything different in how you’re feeling?” Asta knows humans do not have the same capability to imprint on the ones they love, but he wonders if they feel it.

“I mean, I should have been having a heart attack to find you lying naked next to me, but I wasn’t that scared after the initial shock wore off.” Yuno looks at him, and Asta drinks in his face. His gorgeous features, his eyes, the soft tumble of his hair. He wants to smooth those messy bangs off of Yuno’s forehead and kiss it. “I guess that explains why I was so fascinated in wolves and why I wanted to see you again so badly.”

“It might be that. I can’t say. I’ve never met a couple where a wolf imprinted on a human.” And Asta is sure that it has happened at least once before, but it makes sense that none of them have ever heard about it. He and his pack tend to keep to themselves.

Most packs do, though. They run with the Ideales because they live in the same neighborhood, but otherwise, Asta has no idea what other wolves might be in the area. Keeping to themselves is how they stay safe from humans, because at least one exposed pack will not draw attention to every single pack in the area. Zora’s father, Zara, takes the risk because he, his mate, and his son wanted to do so. No other reason than that.

But most packs don’t, and so Asta’s pack runs with just themselves. They have more than enough members to make up for it, though. Some packs are very small.

“You have a family, don’t you? You said those pups were your little brothers.” Yuno’s face softens slightly, but Asta can pick up the wistful tone in his voice and wonders how lonely Yuno has felt in this house. So big and so empty and quiet that it makes Asta itch.

His house is smaller than this one, but warmer. Full of love and gentleness and his family would love Yuno if Asta brought him home to them. He knows that. After Dad gives him a good shake for being stupid enough to just come back here without telling anyone he was going to do it, he’ll welcome Yuno in without a second thought. That’s how Asta’s family has always been, taking in whoever they found and giving them the love they deserved.

No one should be alone. Human or wolf. No one should have to live like Yuno has.

“Yeah. My family’s my pack. I have three little brothers, my parents, some older siblings, a niece and nephew. We all live together.” Asta watches Yuno frown again, looking thoughtful like he might be trying to figure out just how  _ many _ wolves that is. “They know I imprinted on you because I was upset about it when I came home. I told Mom about it.”

“Upset? I guess that’s fair. I wouldn’t really want to—” Yuno starts, and Asta curses himself because how could he be stupid enough to phrase it like that?

His free hand moves. Too fast, because wolves are fast, but he sets a finger carefully on Yuno’s lips. So soft, Asta wants to kiss him so badly. “Don’t. I don’t mean it the way you’re about to take it. I was upset because I thought a human could never love me back.”

_ And you still might not. _ He doesn’t say it, but he would never force himself on Yuno. He would never try to make Yuno take him in and love him, because if Yuno wants to stay here by himself no matter how miserable it makes him, Asta will respect that choice.

“Oh, all right. I understand that.” Yuno tilts his head slightly and Asta dares to touch his face. Cupping the warmth of his cheek, watching Yuno lean into his touch like an animal starved of love and affection. “I can’t lie and say I don’t feel the pull, or anything. I do feel it. I felt different just when you held my hand. Is that why you wanted me to do it?”

“You thought I broke into your house. I just wanted you to slow down and realize there was another reason I was here.” Asta squeezes Yuno’s hand, feeling the way their hands fit together so perfectly. This is how it was always meant to be, set by destiny herself.

Yuno dips his head and peers at Asta through long black lashes, and Asta wants to kiss him. Again. He’s wanted to kiss Yuno since first laying eyes on him, to be perfectly honest. Cheek licks are the best he’s managed so far. “That’s fair. You didn’t break in, anyway. I let you in. I’m sorry I freaked out on you, but I’m not used to seeing a naked man next to me.”

_ Good. _ The thought is sudden and sharp, and Asta gives his head a little shake.  _ Stop that. He doesn’t belong to me. He hasn’t reciprocated.  _ “I didn’t meant to change back like that. I was going to tell you, now that I know you’re safe. But I hadn’t figured out how yet.”

“Do you just change back sometimes?” Yuno touches the hand Asta has cupping his face, but he doesn’t pull it away or anything. Just touches him with soft, gentle fingers.

Asta clicks his tongue. “At home, I have. Usually just happens when I’m too relaxed.”

“So you changed back on accident. Well, at least it worked out. I guess someone else might have hurt you.” Yuno twists around in his seat, turning to face Asta more properly, and he looks so soft and warm. Asta kind of just wants to tumble Yuno into his lap, kiss his lips, his face. Murmur to him about how special he is. “Did you know I was safe before coming?”

Ah, that. That might be a little more awkward to explain, but he owes Yuno the truth. “I looked you up online. My brother overheard your name. If you’d been associated with a family of hunters, which I couldn’t know without looking, I wouldn’t have been able to come back around. Granted, I probably would have tried to risk it.”

To his surprise, Yuno lets go of his hand to give it a slap. “Don’t risk getting those cute little puppies hurt! Oh, they’re… Not puppies, are they? They’re like you.”

“Haru and Sora. That was who you met. I have another brother, Morgen, but he’s older than they are. Still pup-sized when he’s a wolf.” And Asta thinks back to seeing Yuno with his little brothers, and he wonders how Yuno might look with pups of their own. He can carry them, with a body built for it, but he might not want to. “You can meet them. I’m going to get the shit beaten out of me for risking it without them knowing I was going to, but now that I know you’re safe, you can meet my family if you want to.”

His pack would take good care of Yuno. There are plenty of personalities in the pack, and his parents would take in Yuno and love him enough to make up for everything he lost. Like they did for Asta and all of his older siblings. Even though Yuno has had such a difficult life, Asta can help make up for it. Give him a home. Give him a family.

Yuno worries his lower lip between his teeth, and Asta swallows, his throat dry. “I think I’d like to see them again, if you don’t mind. They were so cute when I met them.”

“They said you were sad. They probably smelled you and got curious.” Asta quiets, and he wonders if he should tell Yuno what he found in all of that research. About his parents. About how lonely and empty his house smells. “It isn’t any of my business. I hope you know that, but… When I was looking up your name, I found out about the accident.”

“Yeah. That… Yeah.” Yuno says nothing for a long time, but the tint of  _ sadness _ in his scent makes Asta crowd closer to him in an effort to comfort him. That’s what he should do.

When Yuno makes no move to stop him or to tell him to back off, Asta decides to risk it. He drops his hand from Yuno’s face and reaches for him, careful as he maneuvers Yuno’s slight weight into his lap. This is a risk, because Yuno might panic and freak out at Asta inviting himself to be so familiar, but Asta can’t just sit here when Yuno smells so sad. It was one thing when the twins told him, when he first saw Yuno. But right now, Yuno needs someone to hold him and comfort him, and what kind of man is Asta if he doesn’t?

“I’m sorry.” He tucks his face against Yuno’s shoulder, and breathes a soft sigh when Yuno doesn’t tense up and wriggle out of his arms. “I wish I’d known you before that happened, because I could have been here for you. All I can do is make up for lost time.”

_ Let me comfort you, Yuno. Let me be the one who takes care of you now. _

A hand slides into his hair and Asta presses up into the touch immediately, his alpha luxuriating in being touched by his mate now. It had been so nice when Yuno was washing him, but this is even better, because now Yuno knows who and what he is. And he’s still here, letting Asta hold him, his body slack and relaxed instead of tensed up. What a perfect, gorgeous boy he is. And now Asta can finally do his best for Yuno’s sake.

“Thank you. This feels… Nice.” Yuno shifts in his grasp and Asta is ready to let him go, but he finds long, slender arms winding around his shoulders a moment later.

He  _ wants _ to be held, and is holding Asta back. “You don’t have to thank me. I want to hold you like this. I want to take care of you. That’s just… That’s what the imprint is, you know? Now that I know you’re my soulmate, all I want to do is everything I can for you.”

“I’ve never been in a relationship before, so this is a lot to take in all at once.” Yuno looks down at him, and Asta gazes up into his eyes, unable to help himself. That beautiful gold, and he imagines Yuno as a wolf. A beautiful black wolf, all dark glossy fur, and those eyes. “I don’t even know if this is going to work out. But I can’t pretend I feel nothing.”

“What do you feel?” Because Asta knows how he feels. That deep pull in his chest, the one that is soothed now that Yuno is finally in his arms where he belongs.

Yuno is quiet, and fingers brush the hair at the back of Asta’s neck for a moment before sliding into it. So soft, so gentle, Yuno is  _ perfect _ in every way that matters. “I don’t know how to explain it. I just feel calm and settled. I feel less lonely? I’ve been living on my own since the accident, and I wasn’t used to it, but I feel like I’m not really alone anymore.”

_ Fuck, _ Asta wants to cry. He wants to crush Yuno to his chest and hold him tight, and promise him that he never has to be alone again. Because he doesn’t have to. Because Asta would do anything in the world to take care of him, no matter what it takes.

“You don’t have to be alone anymore,” he offers. “I’m here if you want me to be.”

“And if I say I don’t want that, what happens? Are you able to stay away from me?” Yuno asks, and Asta’s heart gives a small, shuddery pang at the thought of leaving Yuno behind.

But for Yuno’s happiness, he is capable of that. “If you say you don’t want this, then yes, I’m capable of leaving you here and not bothering you anymore. I really am, and I’ll prove it to you if you ask me to. Everything is at your discretion, all right? I don’t want to push it.”

“Well, I’m not saying that’s what I want. I really do want to see your brothers again.” Yuno shifts on his lap and Asta closes his eyes, wanting to just delight in how close Yuno is, how he smells, how warm his skin is. The soft sadness in his scent has lifted, at least for now, and maybe Asta can make him happy again. Truly happy. “I can’t make any promises, but I feel safe when you hold me like this. And I like how that feels.”

Had Asta really once despaired about the fact he didn’t imprint on another wolf? What a stupid fool he is. Yuno is so unbelievably perfect that he owes the universe at large an apology for ever doubting that anything but this could ever be right for him.

“We can go as slow as you want to. We can do anything you want to do. Just tell me what you want, and I’ll give it to you.” And Asta means that. He does. Whether Yuno wants him to fuck off and never come back, whether Yuno wants to join his pack… Asta will give it to him. Anything. Everything. Whatever his mate wants is what he should have.

Yuno looks down at him, and Asta wants to kiss him. He does. To feel Yuno’s soft mouth against his own, to show him with actions how much he wants him. Wants to care for him and cherish him and give him the world on a silver platter if he wants it.

“When can I see the puppies again?” he asks, and Asta bites back a smile. The twins must have made such an impression on him, and Asta isn’t even upset about that.

He should probably wait to introduce Yuno to his family, but his wolf says  _ no _ and Asta agrees to that. He’s waited days just to properly see Yuno again, and Yuno is quietly offering him a chance to do this correctly. To meet Asta’s family, his pack.

So he’ll let Dad rough him up and take Yuno home.  _ Home. _ “Right now if you want. Our house isn’t that much of a walk from here, if you think you can make it. I’ll lead you there.”

Yuno’s smile is transcendent. “Sure. I could go for a walk in the woods.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **important author's note: morgen is the canonical name of nacht's twin brother in the manga (as was spoilered for me today) so i changed leu's name to morgen to reflect that, as he is named after nacht's brother.


	11. Chapter 11

_ Not much of a walk from here _ is a massive understatement. Yuno’s feet are sore by the time they reach Asta’s home, his hand loosely knotted in the cape of fur across Asta’s shoulders like it has been this whole time. Ever since the moment their hands first touched, Yuno feels like he just  _ has _ to touch him, or at least that he really wants to. The  _ imprint, _ Asta called it. A soul-deep bond spun between them at the hands of destiny.

The thought of it makes Yuno’s stomach flutter softly, but he tries not to think too deeply about it right now. It explains… Enough, he supposes. The urge to see Asta again, twice over; the flutters in his stomach in the auto shop and his own stupidity going out looking for a wild animal. In a way, he  _ asked _ Asta to come and find him, because he told him in the shop where he would be over the weekend. And like clockwork, Asta came to him.

Asta stops at the edge of the treeline, and he makes the easy, smooth transition from wolf to human once again. He had to come here in wolf form with no clothes to wear, and as Yuno watches, he retrieves a bag stuffed into the hollow of a tree.

“Can’t really risk the neighbors seeing me like this,” he explains, changing into a t-shirt and a pair of loose jeans while Yuno decidedly looks away. His face feels hot, his skin prickling. “I should, uh, apologize. You took your shirt off in front of me in the bathroom.”

Yuno scoffs softly and shakes his head. “No, I’ve been publicly out for a couple years now. If we’d started dating through more traditional means, I’d have told you upfront.”

He thought about that, too, on the walk. After all, he gave Asta a bath, and ruining his shirt really was off the table as far as Yuno was concerned, but he doesn’t mind if Asta saw him with his shirt off. And that is probably something worth really turning over in his head to figure out just what he means by that, but not right now. Right now, Yuno wants to focus on the curl of anxiety in his gut at the thought of meeting Asta’s family.

A quick jump, from finding out Asta is his soulmate to meeting his family in  _ one day, _ but Yuno has been lonely for so long that he took up on the offer without thinking about it.

Asta holds out his hand and Yuno takes it, their fingers lacing together in such a familiar way that the ache in his stomach eases. “They’ll love you. I was serious about that.”

“I guess we’re about to see.” At least he can see the pups— the twins— again. They were so cute the first time Yuno met them, small little fluffy things who just wanted attention and weren’t afraid of him. “Sorry, by the way. I know you’ll get in trouble with your folks.”

“I’m not worried about it.” Asta flashes him a smile, all bright white teeth. “It’s worth it.”

It takes another few feet to break through the treeline into a large backyard, and the first thing Yuno hears is the sound of twin giggles, laughter spilling out into the air. His heart beats a little faster when he sees the source of it, two little black-haired boys wrestling with a blond much larger than the two of them. Even at a disadvantage, they manage to tackle him to the ground, and he can pick out little growls in their laughs.

The twins, just like Asta told him about. All bright smiles and flushed cheeks.

_ So cute, _ he thinks, swallowing so hard his throat clicks. “Is that them?”

“That’s them.” Asta whistles and the boys both look up, hair all tousled and tangled around their faces. Leaves stick out here and there. “Hey kiddos. I told you I’d be back.”

Yuno squints at the sky and takes stock of the time, creeping into late evening so he probably kept Asta away later than he intended to be kept. Hopefully no one worried about him too much while he was gone, but he  _ is _ an adult. Still, Yuno has no idea how they really work as a pack. Maybe Asta being gone for so long was cause for alarm.

“Asta!” One of the twins breaks away from the blond beneath him and hurries over, and Yuno reflects that they’re older than he thought they would be. Six or seven by the looks of it, but the same bright blue eyes he remembers from their pup forms. Just as totally fearless as he remembers, too. “And you! It’s you! Did you come to see us again?”

A smile touches Yuno’s lips, because kids are  _ adorable _ . “Yeah, I came to see you again.”

“Haru,” Asta says before Yuno can ask, and the boy  _ launches _ himself at Yuno, arms thrown around his waist, face pressed into his stomach. “Hey now, don’t be a pest.”

Yuno lets go of his hand. “It’s all right. I did come to see them again, remember?”

He combs his fingers through Haru’s hair, picking out a few blades of grass and soothing a few tangles. The hair under his fingers is silky soft and shiny, well taken care of, but of course. Asta made it sound like they all really took care of each other, so Yuno isn’t expecting anything but healthy, happy people here. People who have never been lonely or needy or starved of what they need, because there was someone to give it to them.

“It’s nice to see you again,” Yuno says, and Haru peeks up at him, rubbing his cheek against Yuno’s stomach a little. “I remember seeing you, but you were much smaller then.”

Haru lets go of him to reach up, and Yuno acquiesces and picks him up, carefully balancing the boy on his hip. “You were  _ so _ nice. I would be sad if we didn’t get to see you again.”

The other twin picks himself up off of the ground and comes over to the two of them, ignoring Asta entirely when Asta holds out his arms for him. This one is a little more cautious, but he doesn’t look afraid. “I thought you couldn’t come over. Asta said you were human and Momma said that meant we probably wouldn’t get to see you again.”

“Surprise?” Yuno holds out a hand to him and the other twin takes it. “Here I am.”

“Sora, Yuno’s safe. No hunters or anything,” Asta says, and Yuno swallows hard at the thought of a wolf hunter having seen these two as pups. Would they have known on sight they were looking at two werewolves? Would the twins have been in danger?

“Okay.” Sora takes Yuno’s hand in both of his and clings tight to it, and Yuno pulls the boy close enough to touch his hair, his cheek. He’s so  _ pretty. _ Both of them are, really.

The blond they’d been playing with sits cross-legged in the grass now, his wide blue eyes watching them with an intensity that makes Yuno want to squirm in place, but he holds himself still. “Asta, is that the human boy you imprinted on? I thought Dad told you not to risk going around him in case he was a hunter. He’s probably gonna kill you now.”

“Yuno is  _ safe, _ ” Asta says again, and the blond tips his head to the side, looking thoughtful as another man that Yuno missed the first time steps off the back porch to join him in the grass. And Yuno recognizes this one, the punk from the auto shop. His hair isn’t slicked back anymore, and his glasses are missing. He looks a lot less like a punk like this. “I did all the research before going to see him again. Besides, he’s all on his own. He’s harmless.”

_ All on his own. _ Yuno says nothing, because that’s just the truth.

“Come inside! It’s gonna get dark soon!” Sora pulls at his hand and Haru whines softly, nuzzling into Yuno’s neck. “Momma says we have to let the nighttime animals come out.”

Yuno allows himself to be half-drug across the yard, keeping an arm tight around Haru to keep from dropping the other twin as Sora leads him to the back porch. Asta follows behind them but stops to talk to the two waiting in the grass, and their voices are too low for Yuno to pick up on what they’re talking about.  _ Him, _ he knows. They’re talking about him, about Asta’s decision to bring him here despite the fact he’s a human. And it must be far more serious than Yuno originally thought for them to react this way.

Sora has him up on the back porch when Yuno realizes someone is waiting for them. Two people are waiting just inside the sliding glass door, and his heart drops into his gut at the sight of the huge, towering man who takes up so much of the doorway. All muscle, all mass, scars peeking out from beneath the white tank top stretched across his broad chest.

“Daddy, Asta brought his mate home,” Sora says matter-of-factly, giving Yuno’s hand another tug. “See, I told you he was nice. Is he staying for dinner?”

“Asta’s mate.” The voice belongs to the other person watching them, who stands in front of the much larger man with a huge, protective hand splayed across his belly. This man is beautiful, so gorgeous that it takes Yuno’s breath away, watching him with the same pale blue eyes as the twins. Except, unlike the twins, his hair is a long, pale white. He looks like an angel, or at least what an angel should look like. “That’s right. He does have a mate now.”

Yuno feels like he should say something, but nothing really comes out of his mouth.

“Asta!” The larger man lets himself out through the door, but not before kissing the white-haired beauty on the cheek. “You and I have to talk about this, boy.”

That must be his father. And so then it follows that the white-haired man is his mother.

“He’s not going to be in too much trouble for bringing me here, is he?” Yuno asks, now able to speak with the more intimidating man behind him. Though admittedly, that might be worse than if he was still in front of Yuno where at least Yuno could see him.

“Asta wouldn’t have brought you to us if you were dangerous, but it’s still important to remind him that such decisions can be risky.” The white-haired man smiles and steps out onto the porch, leaning down to scoop Sora up into his arms. He looks  _ so much _ like the twins, but their skin is a few shades darker, like the other man’s had been.

Wait, are they the twins’  _ biological _ parents? “I’m, um, Yuno. Yuno Grinberryall.”

“My name is Nacht Faust. It’s lovely to meet you. Our Asta was very affected from meeting you the first time.” Nacht waves for Yuno to follow him into the house and Yuno does, not really wanting to be present if Asta and his father are going to fight.

The inside of the house is bright and warm, the kitchen all soft hues and excellent smells that soothes Yuno almost immediately. Another boy sits at the kitchen table with a book spread out in front of him, but he isn’t looking at it anymore. Instead he looks up at Yuno, and  _ this _ boy looks exactly like his mother— Except for the long black hair.

“It’s all right, Morgen,” Nacht murmurs, and the boy looks up at him. “Asta’s mate is perfectly safe and allowed to be here. There’s nothing for you to worry about.”

“Morgen’s a pretty name,” Yuno offers, and Morgen blushes and ducks under his hair a bit.

“Thanks.” Morgen marks his place and closes his book, and Yuno eyes the cover with a small smile. He’s read that one. Maybe they can talk about it later. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Sora chatters to Nacht with more energy than Yuno thinks even he had at that age while Haru just clings to Yuno’s shoulders, occasionally nuzzling into his neck and letting out a soft sound that could almost be a purr. He’s such a tiny, warm little thing that Yuno isn’t even tired of holding him, the weight somehow comforting. Admittedly, Yuno has never thought about having kids of his own. He just kind of thought he never would.

“Yuno,” Nacht says, “please feel welcome to sit down. I was going to start on dinner soon. Maybe you’d like to help me? My usual helper is rather indisposed these days.”

“Indisposed? Are they all right?” Yuno carefully hooks a chair leg with his foot and draws it out, sitting down as carefully as he can so as not to disturb the boy hugging him. All Haru does is end up getting more comfortable on Yuno’s lap, curling in against his chest.  _ So cute. _

Morgen scoffs and sits back in his hair, rolling his eyes so hard that Yuno grins at him. “He’s fine, he’s just pregnant again. He has twins too, but they’re upstairs with him and his mate right now. When you get  _ really _ pregnant you can’t move around so much.”

“They’ll be down for dinner,” Nacht says, and Yuno’s mind turns some of those words around in his head.  _ He. Pregnant. Again? _ “I hope you like children. We have quite a few of them running around the house. Six right now, counting Morgen, though he’s the oldest.”

“And the smartest,” Morgen adds, and Yuno bites back a small smile.

“I love children,” he says, and Haru  _ yips _ softly up at him, little fingers curling in the collar of his shirt. “So I don’t mind being in a house with a lot of them.”

“Do you want any of your own?” Nacht asks, sweeping Sora’s hair back from his small shoulders to kiss the boy on the forehead. They look  _ so pretty _ together that Yuno’s heart skips a beat. He’s seen beautiful men in his life, but Nacht is damn near ethereal.

“I haven’t really thought that much about it,” he murmurs. “I’m, uh, fourteen? Mostly I think about school and homework or whatever books I’m reading.”

Nacht’s eyebrows dart up for just a moment before he chuckles and shakes his head, cradling Sora’s head against his chest as he gets more comfortable in his own chair. “Fourteen, hmm? I was just fifteen when I met Yami. How interesting.”

“Yami is your husband, ah, mate?” Yuno asks, and Nacht nods, humming softly as he kisses the top of Sora’s head. All the casual, easy affection makes Yuno’s heart  _ yearn, _ but he isn’t sure exactly what he wants the most from the scene in front of him. The motherly love, or… He really has never thought about it. “How old was he when you first met?”

“Twenty-five. It’s a long story, but maybe I’ll tell you after dinner. It doesn’t exactly have a happy start, but as you can see, it has a very happy ending.” At those words, Sora lifts his head and yips up at his mother, and Nacht smiles down at him, touching their noses together. Yuno can just imagine the little pups he’d stroked in the forest, can imagine Sora’s little tail wagging so hard his body would shake with the motion again.

Morgen props his chin in his hands, clearing his throat to get Yuno’s attention again. “What about your parents, Yuno? Do they know you’re here, or about Asta?”

That question… Is incredibly fair, and Yuno even understands why he asked. But it still makes his throat tighten up for a moment. As if sensing his distress, Haru curls into him more, snuffling softly against his throat, fingers clinging tighter to his shirt.

Right. Yuno takes a deep breath. “They don’t know I’m here, and they don’t know about Asta. They died in a car accident not that long ago, so I’m kind of on my own right now. Their money pays for the house and some family friends check on me and make sure I’m all right, but otherwise it’s just… It’s just me. So there’s no one else to worry about.”

Silence fills the kitchen for a moment and Morgen whines softly, squirming in his chair before he stands up and comes around the table. He doesn’t ask, shoving his face in Yuno’s side and hugging him tight around the middle, catching Haru in the embrace as well. It’s so sudden and painfully sweet that Yuno feels tears burn in his eyes, but he blinks them back and tucks an arm around the younger boy, resting his face against Morgen’s hair.

“It’s all right,” he whispers, rubbing his hand in slow, soothing circles around Morgen’s small, slender back. “You didn’t know, and it’s not wrong to ask questions. I promise.”

Morgen nods against his side but doesn’t lift his head, and Yuno kisses his hair in an attempt to soothe him. He doesn’t want either boy upset and pulls Haru a little closer to assure the small pup that everything is fine. Talking about it is fine.

Probably better than holding it all inside until it tries to kill him.

Nacht’s eyes are gentle when Yuno looks up at him again, and there is something else there. Something that feels almost like approval, aimed in his direction.

“Well,” Nacht says softly, “if you decide that you do want to be with my son, you have a family here, if you want it. We’d never turn away someone who belongs with us.”

Nacht presents it sensibly like a decision to be made still, but the soft warmth curling around Yuno’s heart almost speaks for him. He knows he needs to think through it all logically, but right now he doesn’t think there would be any reason to tell Asta  _ no. _

Soulmates. Dropped into each other’s lives through either chance or destiny. Yuno has been alone so long, he doesn’t know if he wants to be alone anymore.

“We’ll see,” he says, and Nacht’s smile is warm and tender.

For now, Yuno keeps it to himself that he might have already made his decision and focuses on keeping Haru calm and soothing Morgen. One step at a time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **another author's note: in keeping with the fact that bad boy past nacht has long white hair, i made nacht have long white hair in this fic. i really like the look of him with white hair, he looks like a devious angel.
> 
> i also want to thank everyone who has been supporting this story! i appreciate everyone who has taken the time to leave a comment to let me know what they think. i appreciate everyone who left a kudos, whether from their account or as a guest. i appreciate everyone who took the time to bookmark the story, and everyone who chose to subscribe to stay updated. and i appreciate all my silent readers as well, who are enjoying the journey!
> 
> thanks so much!


	12. Chapter 12

Asta knew he would be in for it the moment his parents showed up at the back door.

He knows his parents have been keeping an eye out for him as soon as he woke up on Yuno’s floor and realized just how much time had passed. Running solo is far from unusual, but they have rules about how long someone should be gone and when they should check in. Leaving his clothes and his cell phone behind only made it all the more apparent that something was up, and after his tearful confession, of course they would watch for him.

Still, when Dad steps off of the back porch and approaches him, Asta feels the hairs on the nape of his neck stand up. “He’s gonna kill me, isn’t he? That’s really bad.”

“Should have just told them where you were going!” Luck leans back on his hands, hair a mess, face flushed from wrestling with the twins. “Should have told literally  _ any _ of us, y’know. I’m guessing the human boy can’t be a hunter if you brought him back here.”

Because if Asta brought a hunter’s spawn back to the house, he is definitely dead.

“Of course not. I’d never risk that.” But Dad still scowls at him as he walks through the grass, heavy steps making Asta’s wolf curl up in a ball and try to be as small as possible.

Yami Sukehiro is not just his father, though he absolutely is. Took Asta in as a pup alongside Mom and raised him, never letting him think he was anything less than theirs and anything less than pack. He was the last pup they adopted on their long journey to this house, to their forever home, and that means something to Asta, and to them. But Dad is also the pack alpha, and that means the welfare of all of them is his primary concern.

Which means bringing a strange human home… Can be seen as pretty bad.

“Asta.” Dad drops a hand on the top of his head and Asta twitches under it, peering up at him around the heavy swell of his forearm. “You have one minute to explain this to me.”

_ Shit. _ “He’s fine, Dad! I did plenty of research before ever going near him again. You know I’d never bring anyone home if I thought they were going to be a danger to the pack.”

“How much is  _ plenty _ of research?” Dad asks, and Asta winces at him. “What, a night? Asta, you can’t just  _ do _ things like that. There’s so much you could have missed in one search.”

“It was hours, though, and I was really careful. I checked everything you always told me to check. He doesn’t even have parents.” The comment makes the hand nestled in his hair twitch. Before they were found, none of Asta’s older siblings had parents either, and he already knows his parents were orphans themselves. “No parents, no immediate family because his parents were only children. No hunters at all in their bloodline as far back as I could force it. And the house doesn’t even smell like anyone but him now.”

“The  _ house? _ ” Luck asks, and Asta flinches because shit. He really should not have said—

Dad gives him a shake and Asta bites back a yelp. “You went to his house alone? Asta! You know better than to do something that stupid, mate or not. There could have been a trap.”

There could have been. He knows that. A smart hunter dealing with a stupid wolf might have put up just as little resistance as Yuno did, and Asta could have walked right into a half dozen hunters waiting to put him down. Or to capture him and torture him to see if they can wring anything about his family out of him, to take down the whole pack. But he was so sure, so instinctively sure, that Yuno was good. That Yuno needed him.

Yuno does need him. He needs a pack and a family. He needs to be loved.

“I’m sorry!” Asta  _ does _ yelp when Dad gives him another shake, hand flexing and almost dragging him off of his feet. “But I swear he’s safe. He’s so good, Dad, but he’s so lonely. And the imprint is real! We both felt it when I held his hand. He needs us.”

_ Just like I needed you. Just like we all needed you when we were pups. _

Without any effort on his part at all, Dad drags Asta across the grass and right up in front of him, forearm flexing. The muscle there makes even Asta feel small. “And if hunters were watching him or had any reason to believe he’d seen a fucking werewolf in the woods, you could have been shot. What if he told someone he saw you and the twins?”

“He wouldn’t do that.” Asta has no way to prove this. Just a feeling, nothing more, but the way Yuno acted… Why would someone who has no one just tell random people he met some wolves? He even lied to  _ Asta _ about that in the shop, when Asta was so sure he was feeling the effects of their imprint even without touch. “You don’t know him like I do.”

“You  _ barely _ know him.” Dad sighs and tips his head back, and Asta whines at him, because he does know Yuno. He knows him well enough to know Yuno would never put him in danger.

And he could ask Dad to trust him. He could. But Dad is older, more mature, more certain of himself than Asta could ever hope to be at his age. Dad knows better. “I don’t need to know everything about him. He just said he saw wolves, to me, at the shop. Never said he touched them or that they were friendly or anything, and wolves are native here. It’s not weird or unusual to see them. Hunters won’t go chasing stupid claims for no reason.”

“I’d fucking hope he isn’t going around telling everyone he pet a couple of wolf pups. I’d put any hunter down who came near this pack, but I’m trying to make sure they don’t.” Dad lets him go and blood rushes back to Asta’s head, making him stumble for a moment.

Magna clears his throat from where he’s dropped down in the grass next to Luck, an arm slung around his shoulders, fingers picking grass out of Luck’s hair. “I don’t think you have to worry about the kid, Dad. I really don’t. Doesn’t strike me as the type to talk to people.”

“But he talked to Asta at the shop, didn’t he?” Dad pulls his pack of cigarettes out of his back pocket and lights one, and Asta dips his head. Yes, Yuno spoke to him.

“Didn’t talk to me, though. Didn’t really talk to the guy he was with or the one who picked them up. He’s quiet. If he talked to Asta at all, it was probably the imprint.” And Asta wants to tackle Magna to the ground and hug him. Thank him for being such a good fucking brother. “You imprinted on Mom, right? You know how big the pull is there.”

Dad exhales blue smoke, half-glaring down at Magna. “And I don’t know how humans feel it or if they feel anything at all from it. We’ve never met a human who was imprinted on by a wolf. For all we know, they don’t feel shit  _ until _ they’re touched for the first time.”

“He felt it,” Asta insists, and Dad scoffs at him. “What human would just sit on the ground and let a wolf lie in their lap? He came looking for me when I found him. He felt it. Maybe he didn’t know what he was feeling, I mean, I guess he couldn’t, but he felt it.”

“You went looking for him. Of fucking course you did. I should have known.” Dad pinches the bridge of his nose, and Asta straightens. Yes, he did. So what? “Asta—”

It takes a lot to stand up against his father on anything, because instinctively Asta should back down and just listen to him. But he can’t. Not on this. “I couldn’t ignore it. I couldn’t ignore him. We saw each other randomly after we first met, and I think that means something. I think I was being told that I was allowed to see him if I wanted to.”

That they could have something if Asta went through the effort of meeting him once more, of explaining things to him. Of just being with him, being close to him, letting it all sink in, and then giving him the skin to skin contact he needed to recognize it. Not the warmth of human contact and touch, but so much more than that. Asta can be everything Yuno could ever need and more, and he would do it without a second thought.

“You can’t just take risks like that. You  _ can’t. _ I know you were upset. I was there, kid, I saw how much it was hurting you.” Dad shakes his head, and Asta tries not to bristle. This isn’t about any of that. He could have swallowed that pain and lived with it, but Yuno can’t just spend the rest of his life alone. “But that doesn’t mean chasing him down without telling anyone. What might have happened to you? Asta, you could have been killed.”

“But I wasn’t. I’m perfectly fine. And Yuno needs a family. He needs a pack. And the twins already love him.” They’d run right up to him just like before, and it makes Asta’s heart beat stupidly fast. How good would he be with pups of their own?

His alpha is more interested in that than it has any right to be and he tries  _ very hard _ not to think about Yuno being like Finral. Pregnant with their next litter, finally packing some meat on his slender frame, softly rounding and curled up in a nest with their other pups nestled in close with him. Beautiful dark-haired little things with green and gold eyes.

Fuck, Asta wants that. To tuck Yuno in somewhere soft and safe and warm.

Dad inhales. Exhales. “It really pisses me off that you brought him back without talking to us about it. You could have put the pups in danger. Morgen, Haru, and Sora look up to you. You can do no wrong in their eyes, Asta. You know that.”

The implication that he might have put them in danger makes Asta’s head drop, because that is true. But Yuno would never hurt them. Ever. He’d loved the twins the moment he met them. “He wanted to see them again. The twins. He asked if he could.”

“They seemed like they liked him!” Luck pops up, and even under the weight of Dad’s scowl, he does not so much as flinch. Even though Luck is an omega, he has no self-preservation and never has. He likes a challenge and a fight too much. “Especially Haru. I know they’re still kind of too small to realize it’s dumb to run to a stranger, but they’re still wolves.”

They still have at least  _ some _ instinct. And neither of them have seen Yuno as a threat.

For a moment, Dad is quiet. He finishes his cigarette and puts it on the bottom of his boot, his eyes fixed on the forest beyond them. A few neighbors surrounding them have a fence up to keep out any curious animals and never seemed to understand why their family never wanted one, but they do their best not to draw too much attention. They use this entrance to the forest to get deep into the trees and run where it’s green and fresh and alive.

Asta still remembers not being allowed to wander past the treeline without his parents, still too curious for his own good. Hard to say no to, because so often he’d just do whatever he wanted to do, and  _ Mom, _ he was taking care of himself in the woods already.

Dad looks at him, and Asta holds his gaze. “If anything happens, what will you do?”

“Whatever I have to do. I won’t choose a hunter over the pack. You have to know that.” But Yuno isn’t one, and so this is a moot point. “I’ll protect the pack. I’ll protect the pups. And if you and Mom ever end up needing protection, I’ll be there. I promise you that.”

This time, Dad just ruffles his hair. “You better be right about this. If that human is anything less than as harmless as you make him seem, he’s not coming around here again.”

Fair enough. Asta nods and swallows hard, then darts around his father and heads back into the house to make sure everything is fine. For all he knows, Mom might have just flayed his mate alive. Some alphas are stupid, and they only think about how nurturing and gentle omegas are with pups and assume they must be harmless. They forget that mothers are notoriously more vicious and protective of their pups, and that omegas can and  _ will _ put alphas down to protect their babies. And Yuno went inside with  _ three _ of those babies.

“Sorry to keep you waiting—” Asta stops short just inside the sliding glass door, almost tripping over the frame and sprawling across the tiles. Now  _ that _ would be graceful.

The kitchen is empty. His heart rate picks up just slightly, but Asta tells himself to relax and leaves the door open for his siblings and father. His shoes go on the mat next to the back door, because tracking dirt into the house will get him killed.

At least Yuno’s shoes are also there. That means he didn’t run off or anything.

Asta peeks into the living room, and while some of his pack are here, Yuno isn’t. Vanessa and Gauche are taking up the  _ entire _ couch in typical fashion, because Vanessa has been doing that for as long as Asta can remember. Head reclined on the throw pillows stuffed under her head, because Gauche doesn’t need pillows when he has her breasts.

He’s asleep but she isn’t. Violet eyes flick up to Asta in the doorway, then return to where Marie and Sophia are playing with a scatter of toys in front of the television. “Your little human boy went upstairs to meet Finral and Finesse. Dad make you sweat?”

“Doesn’t he always?” Asta glances at the stairs, then back at Vanessa. “You pissed at me?”

Vanessa scoffs at him. “Of course not. Go get your boy, all right? He’s overwhelmed.”

Of course he is. Their pack is  _ huge _ and Yuno has been alone, and even before that, he only had his parents and no siblings. Asta can scarcely imagine how all of this must be hitting him, and he hopes that Yuno is not hurting inside, silencing his own pain to put up with as much of this as possible. He deserves to be happy,  _ just _ happy with no strings attached.

“Thanks, Vanessa,” he says, and then darts upstairs to where Finral’s room is.

There are no lights on of course, at least not  _ real _ lights beyond the flickering electric candles Finesse turns on when the natural light starts growing dim. Finral likes the dark and the quiet, and Asta is not at all surprised to see Rhys tucked down beside his mother, eyes heavily lidded and stifling a yawn against his hand. Alpha children might be very protective of their pregnant mothers, but omega children cling even tighter.

Hence why Sophia is only up here sometimes, but Rhys likes to stay with Finral.

“Hi, Asta.” Rhys waves at him and Asta smiles softly at his nephew, letting himself into the room when he picks up Yuno’s distinct scent. Still, Yuno is nowhere to be seen.  _ Damn it. _

Finral sifts his fingers through Rhys’s hair and presses a kiss to the soft dark locks. He looks tired, but he always does these days. “You just missed them, Asta. I think Mom’s finding a spare room that Yuno can use if he wants to stay over. He seems nice.”

Well  _ that’s _ good. “Where’s Finesse? I thought she was up here with you.”

“Went out to grab me something real quick.” Finral smiles shyly and Asta chuckles. Poor Finesse has been out and about almost every day to pick up something Finral is craving, but she hardly seems to mind. “And a few things for dinner, if Yuno is staying. Mom wants to make sure we have enough for everyone. Is he going to be pack soon, do you think?”

_ If I had my way, he’d be pack tonight. _ “I hope so. Sorry to bother you. Get some rest.”

Finral shakes his head, snuggling deeper into his nest, and Rhys wraps his arms around Finral just a little tighter and nuzzles into his ribcage. “Think nothing of it. I like Yuno. He seems sweet enough. A little quiet and sad, but I’m sure you already know that.”

“We’ll fix it,” Asta swears, and Finral nods and closes his eyes. Right. Let him sleep.

He finally finds Yuno, his little brothers, and Mom all congregated together in one of the spare rooms that guests use if they happen to stay over, Yuno perched on the bed with Haru and Sora on his lap, an arm around both of them. The image is so powerfully sweet that it takes Asta’s breath away, and he wants that with everything he has. For Yuno to slot neatly into his family like he was always there. Like he belongs with them.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” he says, and Yuno offers him a shy little smile that he hides in Haru’s hair.  _ I’m not going to make you wait anymore, Yuno. You’ve waited long enough. _

“It’s fine. I don’t mind waiting,” Yuno murmurs, and Asta doubles down on his promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bit late because it's the weekend and i slept in, but here we go
> 
> [carrd](https://zogratiscest.carrd.co/#) || [twitter](https://twitter.com/zogratiscest)

**Author's Note:**

> read. the. tags.


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